Utrecht // A doping-related scandal involving the tainted Astana team of Tour de France champion Vincenzo Nibali marred the start of the Grand Boucle in Utrecht on Saturday.
Late on Friday night, news emerged that Astana’s Dutch rider Lars Boom had returned a low level of cortisol in an unofficial test conducted by the Movement for Credible Cycling (MPCC) during the week.
Under MPCC rules, which are not binding, Astana are obliged to stand down Boom for a period of eight days.
Boom’s reading is not a doping violation – a high level of cortisol would be – but the MPCC rules state that the rider must be rested for his own health.
Astana, like another 12 teams competing at the Tour de France are voluntary members of the MPCC and initially indicated their desire to respect the regulations.
Their request to the International Cycling Union (UCI) to replace Boom with their reserve rider Alessandro Vanotti for this event was refused, however, as it came too late.
It left Astana in a difficult position, as they are under increased scrutiny this year as a condition for having their licence renewed because of a string of doping scandals last year.
Kazakh brothers Maxim and Valentin Iglinsky were riding for Astana last year when they tested positive for the banned drug EPO while three riders on the secondary Continental Tour team failed tests for steroids.
If Astana were to respect the MPCC rules, they would have to start this race with just eight riders, which could damage Nibali’s chances of retaining his crown, so they confirmed Boom would start the race.
He finished in 23rd place, just behind Nibali.
“The MPCC oblige a rider to be replaced if his cortisol level is too low. We wanted to change riders but unfortunately the UCI said no,” Astana manager Alexandre Vinokourov said.
“Vanotti came this morning to replace Boom if need be. But we can’t change riders after the manager’s meeting on Friday morning. The rider’s test results arrived at 14.30.”
Boom, 29, is expected to play an important role for Nibali during the first nine days of the Tour. He won the cobbled fifth stage on last year’s Tour and is expected to be Nibali’s chief lieutenant during this year’s similar fourth stage.
He is also a powerful “rouleur” whose job it is to protect Nibali on fast flat stages, like today’s second one from Utrecht to Zelande where there is a risk of strong cross winds, and is a key element for the Stage 9, team time trial.
His inclusion for the 13.8-kilometre individual time trial around Utrecht, means Astana have breached MPCC rules and may be forced to leave the movement.
Two other teams left the MPCC this year over similar incidents.
While a low cortisol level is not necessarily a sign of doping, it can be produced by the use of glucocorticosteroids, an anti-inflammatory drug that can allow riders to break through the pain barrier.
It can also be caused by fatigue, though, while the use of glucocorticosteroids can produce fatigue and increase the risk of injury.
Australian Rohan Dennis claimed the first yellow jersey of the Tour de France as champion Nibali stole some potentially vital seconds ahead of his rivals in the race to Paris.
BMC Racing rider Dennis finished in 14 minutes 56 seconds to win from Tony Martin (Etixx-QuickStep) and Fabian Cancellara (Trek), who were five and six seconds behind, respectively. Dennis’s average speed of 55.45kph was the fastest recorded in a Tour time-trial, despite the technical, twisty 13.8-kilometres course through the centre of Utrecht in Holland.
Italian Nibali (Astana) was the quickest of the four favourites for the overall title, clocking 15:39. That was seven seconds quicker than Briton Chris Froome (Team Sky), who finished in 15:46 to place 39th.
Spaniard Alberto Contador (Tinkoff-Saxo) conceded 15 seconds to Nibali in finishing in 15:54, while Colombian Nairo Quintana (Movistar) was three seconds further back.
Sunday’s second stage sees the 198 riders embark on the 166km route from Utrecht to Zelande.
A sprint finish is expected, unless cross winds split the peloton, with Mark Cavendish bidding to add to his 25 Tour stage wins.
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