Ebben a hírben van valami amit eddig ne tudtunk volna?
Simoni tests positive again
Test during Giro showed cocaine, too
Simoni showed positive for cocaine in May, too
Gilberto Simoni's "dentist defense" took another hit Friday after UCI anti-doping officials released the results of a drug test taken following the ninth stage of the Giro d'Italia, nearly one month after the test that ultimately resulted in his expulsion from this year's Giro.
Simoni, the defending Giro champion, was pulled from the race by his Saeco-Longoni Sport team on May 24, two days after learning that an out-of-competition drug test showed him to be positive for cocaine.
Simoni immediately produced a statement from his dentist certifying that he had treated the Saeco rider on April 24 and, as part of that treatment, had used "a local anesthetic containing Carbocaine two percent with adrenaline."
The explanation, however, was disputed by pharmacologists, who said that the two drugs produce different results on tests. Doctor Larry Bowers, the senior managing director of the U.S. Antidoping Agency told VeloNews that there was "no way" that Carbocaine -- or its generic equivalent Mepivacaine -- would show up as cocaine in a drug test.
"If that was the only local anesthetic that he was given (as per the statement), then it is not possible that this is an explanation for a positive cocaine finding," Bowers said.
Simoni continued to protest the finding, saying that he was innocent. But Friday, UCI officials released results of another test, taken nearly a month later, which also showed Simoni was positive for cocaine.
This time, the test was conducted during the Giro d'Italia, following Stage 9, coincidentally, the same day Mapei's Stefano Garzelli, the Giro winner in 2000, was thrown out of the race after a second test had confirmed an earlier positive for the masking agent Probenecid.
Simoni's Saeco team issued a brief statement Friday evening, confirming the UCI finding and promising to announce its "official position towards the rider tomorrow, Saturday June 1."