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Czech cyclist Roman Kreuziger claims the UCI has broken its anti-doping rules by provisionally suspending him without a positive test.
In a statement on his website on Tuesday, Kreuziger said he and his lawyers “strongly oppose the UCI decision” to impose a temporary ban on him racing.
“(The ban) has no basis in the UCI legislation, allowing imposition of a provisional suspension only in cases of a positive A sample, which is not Mr Kreuziger’s case,” the statement said.
“Other preliminary measures can only be imposed when there exists a risk that the results of a race might be affected by the alleged doping activity of the rider … and only after providing the rider an opportunity to deliver a written submission – which did not happen.”
Cycling’s governing body used blood analysis from 2011 and ’12 in Kreuziger’s biological passport to suspend the Tinkoff-Saxo rider on Saturday.
The temporary ban prevented him starting the Tour of Poland on Sunday.
“I’m not a cheat, and I have not committed any doping offence,” the insisted. “I am deeply frustrated by this current situation, which makes it impossible for me to do my job and ride my bike.”
Kreuziger had pledged on Sunday to ask the Court of Arbitration for Sport to lift the ban before the three-week Spanish Vuelta starts on August 23.
In June, Tinkoff-Saxo dropped Kreuziger from its Tour de France roster because of suspected discrepancies in his biological passport. With no disciplinary case open, it selected him for the stage races in Poland and Spain.
The UCI acknowledged on Saturday it had reacted to the team selections based on “the recent assertion of an anti-doping rule violation based on his athlete biological passport”.
The cycling body did not respond immediately to requests for comment on Tuesday.
In his latest statement, Kreuziger said he wished to explain the facts to avoid any misunderstandings.
The 28-year-old has three career top-10 finishes in the Tour de France and victories in the second-tier Tour of Romandie and Tour of Switzerland stage races. He also has a one-day classic victory in the 2013 Amstel Gold race.
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