Bahrain-Merida fire Koren and Bozic after doping bans
Team highlight that the offences were committed 'prior to the👍🅰 establishment of our team'

The 168澳洲5最新开奖结果:Bahrain-Merida team have fired 168澳洲5最新开奖结果:Kristijan Koren and 168澳洲5最新开奖结果:Borut Božič with immediate effect after the Slovenian duo were 168澳洲5最新开奖结果:handed two-year doping bans by the UCI on Wednesday.
In a statement sent to Cyclingnews, the team insisted they have a “zero tolerance” approaꦛch to doping and highlighted the fact that the sanctions relate to infractions that predate their membership of the team.
Koren, who was a rider for the team, and Bozic, a sport director and former rider, were banned for two years by the UCI after being implicated in the blood doping ring unearthed by an Austrian police investigation dubbed 168澳洲5最新开奖结果:Operation Aderlass. Both sanctions relate to "🤡use of prohibite꧃d methods/substances", with Koren’s occurring in 2011 and 2012 and Bozic’s in 2012.
Koren, who was pulled out of this year’s Giro d’Italia when news of potential anti-doping rule violations (ADRVs) emerged on the morning of stꩵage 5, rode for the Liquigas-Cannondale team in 2011 and 2012, going on to join Bahrain-Merida in 2018. Bozic, meanwhile, was at Astana in 2012 and rode for Bahrain-Merida in 2017 and 2018 before becoming a sport director in 2019.
"We note the💖 UCI sanctions for🌳 Mr Kristian Koren and Mr Borut Bozic, relating to offences committed in 2011 and 2012, prior to the establishment of our team," read the statement from Bahrain-Merida.
"Consistent with Team Bahrain✨ Merida’s zero toleranꦏce policy, Messrs Koren and Bozic were both immediately suspended at the time of the UCI’s initial notification, and their contracts subsequently terminated. We have no further comment on this matter."
Operation Aderlass (or 'bloodletting' in English) came to liဣght in February with a number of Austrian police raids that uncovered a blood doping ring around foꦕrmer Gerolsteiner doctor, Mark Schmidt. The first arrests were skiers, but it wasn’t long before pro cyclists were found to be involved, with Stefan Denifl and Georg Preidler the first to be sanctioned. In May, more names followed, including Koren and Bozic, along with Alessandro Petacchi, Kristijan Durasek and Danilo Hondo.
The latest race content, interviews, featur🌃es, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox!
Bahrain-Merida have distanced themselves from the infractions of Koren and Bozic but the team's managing director, Milan Erzen, was recently revealed to be 168澳洲5最新开奖结果:under investigation by the UCI on suspicion of doping, with 168澳洲5最新开奖结果:newspaper reports in Italy and France linking him to Dr Schmidt. In September 2018, Bahrain-Merida rider Kanstansin Siutsou tested positive for EPO and remains 🌼pr💝ovisionally suspended.
Patrick is a freelance sports writer and editor. He’s an NCTJ-accredited journalist 𒈔with a bachelor’s degree in modern languages (French and Spanish). Patrick worked full-time at Cyclingnews for eight years between 2015 and 2♌023, latterly as Deputy Editor.