The Colombian Nairo Quintana seized the Court of Arbitration for Sport to challenge his disqualification from the last Tour de France, in which he had ranked sixth, due to the use of a painkiller prohibited by the medical regulations, the court announced on Thursday. . “For the time being, it is not possible to indicate when the final decision will be rendered”, specifies the CAS, whose panel of arbitrators must still be appointed before setting a hearing date.
The International Cycling Union (UCI) sanctioned the 32-year-old climber on August 17, also fining him 5,000 Swiss francs, “for a violation of the ban on the use of tramadol in competition”. Two samples of dried blood provided by the runner during the Grande Boucle, analyzed on July 8 (seventh stage) and July 13 (eleventh stage), had revealed the presence of this painkiller at the heart of scientific and ethical debates in the sporting world. .
Banned by UCI but not WADA
Tramadol, a synthetic opiate, is not on the list of products prohibited by the World Anti-Doping Code because its effects on performance are discussed, thus prohibiting sports federations from including it in their anti-doping regulations. But the UCI, noting the particularly widespread use of this product in cycling – among the urine samples positive for tramadol taken in the context of 35 Olympic sports, 68% concerned this discipline in 2017 -, banned it at the beginning of 2019 via its medical regulations.
The world cycling body invoked two risks, “progressive dependence” and above all drowsiness and loss of attention, “which increase the risk of falling in the race” in already nervous pelotons. The day after his disqualification, the Colombian announced that he would not participate in the Tour of Spain, explaining that he did not have “the head or the body for the competition”.