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Cycling race (symbolic image): Amateur athletes in Spain are apparently afraid of doping controls

Photo: UJ Alexander / iStockphoto / Getty Images

182 riders wanted to start at an amateur cycling race in Spain on Saturday, but only 52 riders reached the finish line.

There are now suspicions that numerous drivers dropped out of the race to avoid the threat of doping controls at the finish.

This is reported by the Spanish cycling portal ciclo21.com and the radio station “Onda Cero”.

According to the organizer's official website, 182 riders registered for the fifth stage of the XL Interclubs Vinalopó race last Saturday in the southeastern Alicante region.

But only 140 of them started.

According to the information, only 52 of these 140 drivers reached the finish line.

There was a risk of doping controls at the finish

"Onda Cero" reports that word apparently got around on Saturday that inspectors from the Spanish Commission to Combat Doping in Sport (CELAD) would be waiting in the destination of the stage, the city of Villena.

»Ciclo21« writes that it is a well-known phenomenon that drivers do not start the race if there are rumors about doping controls at the finish.

According to reports, some riders said they gave up the race due to punctures, crashes and the difficult course with two mountains and a total of 1,500 meters of climbing.

Other drivers anonymously accused their competitors of abandoning the race because of the threat of doping controls.

Álvaro Marzà, eighth at the finish of the stage, publicly expressed his anger.

»Doping controls in Villena = punctures and withdrawals.

This is not a mathematical formula, this is pure reality," he wrote in an Instagram story, according to several media outlets: "Let's see if they start taking action, because this is a pure joke." He himself was tested for doping , the result was negative.

“Ciclo21” quotes a driver who wanted to remain anonymous.

"We all know who goes and who doesn't," said the driver.

It is always the same drivers who leave races when there is a threat of doping controls.

Organizers speak out against doping

The race organizer has not commented specifically on the allegations against the drivers who dropped out of the race.

However, the organizers published a statement on the website in which they spoke out against doping.

"The Vinalopó Interclubs tournament is proud to be an event that promotes clean and fair cycling," it says: "We are committed to the fight against doping and believe it is important to protect the integrity of the sport to preserve and protect the health of cyclists." The cycling race is subject to the anti-doping rules of the UCI world association.

According to Onda Cero, Spanish doping controllers have been increasingly deployed in the Alicante region for some time.

In the selected races, around six drivers would usually be checked, who would be selected by lottery, as well as the stage winners and overall leaders.

According to “Ciclo21,” Saturday’s events are not an isolated case.

In a race in Almansa, only 92 of the 182 registered drivers finished, and in a race in Castalla only 117 of 178 drivers finished.

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