Dekker out of Tour after positive test

Dutchman Thomas Dekker has been ruled out of the Tour de France after a positive test for the banned blood-booster EPO, his Silence-Lotto team said.

"We have learnt on Wednesday morning that new tests... on samples from December 24, 2007, have proved positive for EPO," Silence-Lotto said yesterday.

"He (Dekker) has been immediately put on a list of 'non-active' riders," said sports director Marc Sergeant.

At the time of the test, Dekker was riding for the Rabobank team.

Dekker was found guilty of a doping offence after the International Cycling Union (UCI) found suspicious data in the blood samples the Dutch rider provided in 2008 and 2009 as part of the build-up of his biological passport.

Since January 2008, the UCI has collected blood samples from all professional riders to create a medical profile that would be compared with data registered in anti-doping tests.

Dekker, one of the riders who was supposed to support last year's runner-up Cadel Evans on the Tour starting from Monaco on Saturday, was replaced by Briton Charles Wegelius.

The UCI asked the Monaco federation, to which Dekker is affiliated, to open disciplinary proceedings against the 24-year-old, twice a Dutch time-trial champion, who faces a two-year ban from the sport.