ORICA GreenEDGE rider Daryl Impey, who last year became the first South African to wear the Tour de France yellow jersey, has confirmed that he has failed a drugs test. The 29-year-old said on his personal website that he had been notified by William Newman, the President of Cycling South Africa, on June 23 that he had tested positive for the banned substance Probenecid at the South African championships held back in February. Probenecid, a diuretic, is considered a masking agent, used to hide the presence of other performance enhancing drugs.
Impey said in his statement: ‘I had no knowledge of Probenecid nor have I ever taken the substance knowingly in any manner. I am committed to drug-free sport and fully intend to take all steps necessary to clear myself of any suspicion. The notification came as a complete shock to me just days before the start of the Tour de France, particularly since anti-doping tests conducted on me on 8 and 9 February 2014 yielded no adverse results. I immediately flew back to South Africa and was present at the analysis of my B sample on 27 June 2014, the results of which confirmed the initial analysis.’
An announcement from ORICA-GreenEDGE in relation to Impey’s situation reads: ‘The team would like to underline that it respects Daryl Impey’s right to prove his full innocence and will not comment any further until the process has run its due course and final conclusion has been made. As per the team’s code of conduct, Daryl Impey will not feature on the team’s roster until the case has been closed and he is fully eligible to ride.’
