BEIJING // In the first official doping case of the Beijing 2008, Spanish cyclist Maria Isabel Moreno was banned from the Games yesterday after testing positive for EPO. Moreno, who had been due to compete in the women's road race and individual time trial, was tested in the athletes' village on July 31 and left China later the same day, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) said.
Moreno's sample came back positive for EPO, a blood-boosting hormone that enhances endurance and has been at the centre of numerous doping scandals. The IOC expelled Moreno from the Games, revoked her accreditation and asked cycling's world governing body, the UCI, to follow up for any further sanctions. * AP
