The Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) announced on Monday the disqualification of French AG2R Citroen cyclist Alex Baudin from the Giro d’Italia after testing positive for Tramadolthe same substance for which Nairo Quintana was disqualified from the 2022 Tour de France.
The UCI disqualifies Baudin after it was revealed that the French cyclist tested positive for tramadol and its two metabolites in a blood sample taken on May 24 during the seventeenth stage of the Giro d’Italia. Baudin’s is the only positive of the 64 blood samples taken in the last Giro d’Italia to detect the presence of tramadol.
Despite this positive, the UCI acknowledges in its statement that the consumption of this substance constitutes a violation of the medical regulations of the UCI but not of the anti-doping code of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), although it will become prohibited from January 1, 2024. In this way Baudin will be able to compete in the next races without problems with the only penalty being disqualification from the last Giro d’Italia.where he finished in 73rd place overall, more than three hours behind the winner, the Slovenian Primoz Roglic.