The UCI have accounted that a urine sample collected from Frank Schleck on the 14ht of July has returned an Adverse Analytical for the diuretic Xipamide.
The RadioShack-Nissan-Trek rider has voluntarily withdrawn from the Tour, however in a statement from the UCI
“The UCI is confident that his team will take the necessary steps to enable the Tour de France to continue in serenity and to ensure that their rider has the opportunity to properly prepare his defense in particular within the legal timeline, which allows four days for him to have his B sample analysed.”
There can be little doubt as to the action they expected the rider and the team to take.
Xipamide is not a substance specifically prohibited by WADA, unlike EPO or steroids, which is why Schleck did not receive an automatic provisional suspension.
It could also mean that there is a legitimate reason for the substance being in his system – not unlike the Alexander Klobnev case (who also tested positive for a diuretic).
Frank Schleck now has time to prepare his defence whilst his B sample will also be analysed. Despite not being prohibited, diuretics can be used as a masking agent for other, banned, substances.
It is possible that Xipamide was present in a supplement being used by the rider. However if so, it would be without the knowledge of the team – as in their statement they deny Xipamide being present in any medicine the team uses.
No statement has yet been issued by Frank. It is also not the first doping controversy the rider has been caught up in, with it being found in 2008 Schleck had made a payment to Dr Eufemiano Fuentes – the doctor at the centre of Operacion Puerto.
The full statement from his team, RadioShack-Nissan-Trek, can be found below. The news also comes at a bad time for the family, with earlier in the day brother Andy Schleck being forced to withdraw from the Olympic Games.
The team’s statement:
“Our team attaches great value to transparency. Because of this, we can announce the following as a response to the adverse analytical finding of xipamide in Fränk Schleck’s urine sample of July 14 during the Tour de France.
“After being informed by the UCI about the presence of xipamide in the urine sample of Fränk Schleck on July 14, the team has decided to immediately withdraw Fränk Schleck from the Tour de France.
“Even though an abnormal A sample does not require these measures, Mr. Schleck and the team believe this is the right thing to do, to ensure the Tour de France can go on in calm and that Fränk Schleck can prepare his defense in accordance with the legal timing to do so.
“On the subject of xipamide the team can declare the following: it is not a product that is present in any of the medicine that the team uses and the reason for the presence of xipamide in the urine sample of Mr. Schleck is unclear to the team. Therefore, the team is not able to explain the adverse findings at this point.
“However, the team is fully determined to collaborate with the anti-doping agencies in order to resolve the matter.”
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