Landaluze Clear to Go

The witch hunt against Basque riders took aim at Iñigo Landaluze, but it seems like the tests they subjected him to were tricked, so he is back on the saddle and hopefully in time to give the Orange team a few victories this year.

Here you have the note from EuroFile:

Landaluze ban lifted

In a surprise ruling, Spanish officials have dropped a likely racing ban against last year's Dauphiné Libéré winner Iñigo Landaluze (Euskaltel-Euskadi), clearing the way for the rider's return to competition, the Spanish wires reported Thursday.

Tests taken in last year's Dauphiné revealed high levels of testosterone in the Basque rider who held on to take a surprise win ahead of Santiago Botero (Phonak). Landaluze originally argued that naturally produces high levels of the hormone, a contention apparently refuted by follow-up test results.

Nonetheless, Landaluze's attorneys insisted that the test results were incomplete and that they didn't meet required anti-doping protocol, a point upon which Spanish sports officials agreed. There's still a possibility that the UCI will challenge the case to the Court of Arbitration in Sport.

In the meantime, Landaluze, who hasn't raced since September, has the green light to return to competition and could start Monday's Volta a Cataluyna in Spain.

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