PARIS
American cyclist and Fort Lewis College alum Tom Danielson tested positive for synthetic testosterone in an out-of-competition test last month and was immediately suspended by his team Monday.
Danielson, a former teammate of Lance Armstrong, said on Twitter he did not take any banned substance.
“I would never ever take anything like this especially after everything I have gone through the last years. This makes absolutely no sense,” said Danielson, who was once regarded as a potential Grand Tour contender.
Danielson previously admitted to widespread doping during his professional career up until 2007.
The 37-year-old Danielson said the “supplements” he is taking might have triggered the positive result.
“I feel incredibly hurt, frustrated, and angry by this. I don’t understand how or why this happened and still can’t even accept this is true,” he wrote. “I will now, as I wait for the B test, have the supplements I take tested to see if this is what caused it.”
Danielson, who rides for the Cannondale Garmin team, added he was notified by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency that a sample collected July 9 returned positive.
As a result, Danielson withdrew from the Tour of Utah, where he was set to compete from Aug. 3-9.
“Tom Danielson notified (us) that he was informed by USADA that he has returned an adverse analytical A sample using carbon isotope testing,” his team said in a statement. “In accordance with (our) zero tolerance anti-doping policy, he has been suspended from competition, effective immediately. He awaits the results (of) his B sample.”
Danielson learned of the test Sunday night and released a series of tweets.
Danielson, originally from East Lyme, Connecticut, testified as part of USADA’s investigation into Armstrong and US Postal and has admitted to doping in the past. He was among five of Armstrong’s teammates who accepted six-month doping suspensions in exchange for evidence that helped USADA to make the case to strip Armstrong of his seven Tour de France titles.
In 2012, Danielson was named the honorary mayor of Durango by former mayor Doug Lyon. That was one month before his original admission to doping.
Durango quickly turned on Danielson, with many in the cycling community calling for him and other admitted cheaters to be banned from the sport for life.
The Durango Herald contributed to this report.
