Jarlinson Pantano breaks silence over EPO positive

Jarlinson Pantano has said he is 'waiting and wanting' for his positive test for EPO to be resolved, thanking his followers for their support since the announcement was made last week.

The UCI announced on April 15 that the Colombian had returned an adverse analytical finding (AAF) for the blood booster in an out-of-competition test conducted by the Cycling Anti-Doping Foundation on February 26. Pantano was immediately provisionally suspended following the announcement.

Pantano, 30, can now request a test of his B-sample pending a final ruling of the case by the UCI. He'll face a ban of up to four years if the B-sample also returns positive.

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His Trek-Segafredo team last week said they were "deeply disappointed" by the finding, though Pantano did not immediately respond to the announcement.

On Monday night however he tweeted for the first time that he was "waiting and wanting" to be cleared and thanked those that had supported him.

“Hello my people, I only have words of gratitude for the support right now,” he wrote. “We are waiting, wanting everything to be resolved. Truly, thanks a million for believing in me and trusting me. God bless you.”

Pantano last raced at the Volta a Catalunya in March where he failed to finish the opening stage. In his career, Pantano has won a stage of the Tour de France as well as a stage at the Tour de Suisse and the Volta a Catalunya.

It's unclear how quickly his case will be resolved. Anti-doping cases can take a notoriously long time with appeals and additional testing of samples. Former Trek rider André Cardoso was only banned in November last year despite testing positive ahead of the 2017 Tour de France, due to questions around the testing of his B-sample.

Former Olympic champion Samuel Sànchez is still currently provisionally suspended despite returning an AAF in August 2017.