Dutch rider Thomas Dekker has been suspended for two years for using DynEPO following his out of competition test on Christmas Eve 2007. Dekker didn’t initially test positive for EPO at that time yet data collected by the UCI over a period of time under the biological passport scheme highlighted abnormalities in his results with evidence of prohibited oxygen transfer methods. His samples were then re-tested and the presence of the drug discovered. This shows that the current systems are working.
Dekker was riding for the Rabobank team when the test was conducted, yet had moved to the Silence-Lotto team when the results were announced. He was later removed from the team. When news of his positive test first broke, Dekker at first said that he had been framed. Dekker later changed his story stating that he had used EPO only once and had acknowledged that he had ‘made a mistake’. If in fact he had taken EPO only once, then the question remains, why was he taking it during the middle of the off season? Maybe he can explain…
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