As if it were a movie and when the hero was in his last moments, giving his last breaths, the plot took an unexpected turn. Superman, this time, was not the savior but rather the saved one in a comic that seemed to have a happy ending. This is because Miguel Ángel López, a Colombian cyclist nicknamed the fictional character who embodies great heroic values, received the support of the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), clarifying the facts after an alleged doping that would have triggered his withdrawal from the Giro d’Italia in 2022.
Since July 2023, López has been sanctioned by the International Cycling Union (UCI) for having been involved in Operation Ilex, in which drug trafficking and possible links to doping are investigated. What’s more, everything was triggered in May 2022 when the Colombian withdrew from the traditional cycling competition in Italy due to inflammation after being administered menotropin.
The above was reported by Astana, López’s former team, which became part of the investigation. The Colombian was linked to the Spanish doctor Marcos Maynar, the main person involved in Operation Ilex. However, after what was studied by the TAS and after talking with witnesses, reviewing medical reports and even interviewing the cyclist himself, no relationship could be established between him and the doctor.
The Court of Arbitration for Sports gave its approval to Superman, according to sources close to the UCI cited by Diario As de España. Even so, the Colombian remains provisionally suspended by the UCI, awaiting the final resolution of the case. For now, the CAS would have condemned Astana to pay the Colombian’s unpaid salaries from 2022, after he was suspended from the team after retiring in Italy.
A TRUNCATED CAREER
López has been competing in the Grand Tours of world cycling since 2016, obtaining third place in 2018 in both the Giro d’Italia and the Vuelta a España. The Colombian was on the rise until his retirement from Italy in 2022.
Superman, however, became champion in his homeland in 2023, winning the Vuelta a Colombia a month before the UCI suspended his participation in official competitions.
These days López continues to train and be supported by his team, Team Medellín, who even shared a message of support on social networks that Superman himself shared on his profile. “There is less and less to go, we trust that your return is close and your Team Medellín family continues to firmly support you, as we have always done, because we believe in you as an athlete and a person,” the Colombians published.
“The international control organizations agree with you. Keep pedaling hard because in all this time you have shown patience, height, optimism, transparency and courage to deal with this situation,” Team Medellín concluded in support of Superman, who on this occasion was the one who needed to be saved.
