Heras to appeal against two-year doping ban

Roberto Heras plans to appeal against a two-year ban handed to him for a positive test for erythropoietin (EPO) in this year's Tour of Spain, his lawyer said yesterday.

Jose Maria Buxeda said the Spanish rider had received notification of the sanction from the Spanish Cycling Federation on Wednesday and would now decide whether to launch a legal appeal in Spain or take the case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).

Heras, who will turn 32 this month, tested positive for the banned blood-boosting substance EPO in the penultimate stage of last year's Tour of Spain when he was on his way to a record fourth triumph in the three-week race.

The confirmation of the sanction means that he will now be stripped of his title and victory will be handed to Russian cyclist Denis Menchov.

The Spaniard, a former team-mate of seven times Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong, has protested his innocence, arguing first that there must have been a laboratory mix-up and then that the testing process was flawed.