When he was handed a two-year doping ban and stripped of his 2010 Vuelta a Espana result, Ezequiel Mosquera felt compelled to retire from cycling. Now that his result has been overturned and he has proved his innocence, he has slammed professional cycling for its mistakes.
“Modern-day cycling is irrational and I can say that it has disappointed me,” Mosquera told Spanish sports daily MARCA on Sunday. “I started racing because I used to see bike racers as heros and now I don’t know what it is that people see in it.”
In November 2011, 14 months after he had tested positive for hydroxethyl starch in the 2010 Vuelta, where he finished second overall and won the final mountain top stage, at the Bola de Oro. At the time, Hydroxethyl starch was defined as a ‘specified substance’ according to WADA rules, given it can be used as a masking agent for blood doping, but was only banned if injected intravenously.
He regrets that both his reputation has been tarnished and he has lost money throughout the tumultuous case. He is now relieved that the ordeal is over and he can now go about in Spain with his name intact and his reputation restored.
“I don’t know if I will get any kind of financial reward, and I don’t want to know. What I can do now is breathe. I’ve been holding my breath for four years and this is a huge weight off my shoulders.”
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