Mosquera could be cleared of doping on a technicality, in time for the Vuelta

Ezequiel Mosquera could be let off, on a technicality, after the Spaniard tested positive in last year’s Vuelta a Espana.

Mosquera finished second in the 2010 Vuelta, but it was later revealed he had tested positive for, masking agent, Hydroxyethyl. He has consistently denied using it, but now his team have gone for the technicality over the innocence. His lawyers have discovered that the starch is only illegal if it is intravenously injected, which could lead him to being let off.

His team are certainly holding out for a victory in the courts, as they have already put him on their provisional list for this year’s Vuelta. Unfortunately for cycling it is very difficult to tell how the substance was put in to the body.

How is it that something like this could not be looked at before? Surely the Anti-Doping Agency should have measures in place to cover eventualities like this. It is difficult enough for cycling to project a clean image, without issues like this hanging over our heads. Alberto Contador’s case is another one, with the court proceeding constantly being moved. Surely a cyclist should only be cleared if he can prove his innocence, not just get out on a technicality. Sanctions should also be issued as soon as possible. If Contador is found guilty, he could lose his 2010 Tour victory over a year after he won it.

I hope that after, what seems, a cleaner tour this year, that more cyclist will start to see it is not the way it goes. I’m sick of having to defend the sport, because of idiots who don’t have enough talent or brains to win a race on their own. Fair enough, if Mosquera is found innocent; he should be found innocent because he is and not because his lawyers are clever.

Anyhow, here is to a scandal free rest of the year!