Dope bust eclipses Arvesen’s charge

Foix (France), July 16: Kurt-Asle Arvesen of Norway won Wednesday’s 11th stage of the Tour de France, a ride largely overshadowed by the second doping bust to mar the race this year.

Australia’s Cadel Evans retained the race leader’s yellow jersey by finishing in the main pack that included his top rivals for the overall title in the three-week race. They were nearly 15 minutes behind the Norwegian.

Arvesen, of Team CSC, led a sprint among three riders in a 12-man breakaway group at the end of the 167.5 km stage from Lannemezan to Foix.

"It’s a wonderful victory for Kurt," said CSC team manager Bjarne Riis. "We are all happy because he has done a lot of work for the team."

The 33-year-old Norwegian national champion edged out Swiss rider Martin Elmiger and Italy’s Alessandro Ballan in a photo finish, for Arvesen’s first Tour stage victory.

Before the stage began on Wednesday, French police detained Spanish cyclist Moises Duenas Nevado after he tested positive for the banned blood-booster EPO following the fourth stage on July 8 at Cholet.

Duenas Nevado, who rides for the Barloworld team and had been 19th overall in the Tour, was suspended by his team and removed from the race.

A Barloworld spokesman confirmed that police had taken Duenas away for questioning, and said they had suspended the rider while they await the results of further tests.

"Right now Moises is at the police station with the team manager and the doctor. The team has suspended Moises while we wait for other information," said the spokesman.

He added that the team had been testing the riders regularly, but had so far failed to notice any anomalies.

"The doctor is controlling the riders every day, so far there has been nothing suspicious from any of the riders."

Evans, the Silence Lotto team leader and a top pre-race favorite, held onto his narrow one second lead over Frank Schleck of Luxembourg. The Tour ends July 27 in Paris. — Agencies