Nissan Arana is Banned from Cycling for Four Years

Popular Belizean cyclist Nissan Arana has been banned from participating in any officially sanctioned sporting event after testing positive for performance enhancement drugs. The decision was handed down by the U.C.I., the world governing body of cycling.  Arana is in violation of the Anti-Doping Rule after being tested randomly during an in-competition doping control at this year’s Holy Saturday Cross Country.  He tested positive for a substance known as E.P.O.  His four-year suspension took effect retroactively from April twentieth and has been disqualified from all results obtained during that event.  This afternoon, News Five spoke with Dion Leslie, Vice President of the Cycling Federation of Belize.

Dion Leslie, Vice President, Cycling Federation of Belize

Dion Leslie

“Nissan’s been a member of the federation for quite a while now.  He’s been an accomplished member, winning a national championship already, traveling extensively with the national team representing Belize.  It just so has it that for this year’s Cross Country he was chosen by NADO, the National Anti-Doping Organization as a random sample after the Cross Country.  It so happens that that test came back positive for EPO and after that it was taken into the hands of the National Anti-Doping Agency and their counterparts in Central America and then handed over to UCI and UCI dealt with the case management and everything of it.  After there is a finding, the cyclist or the athlete is contacted personally and then he deals with whichever organization or entity will be carrying out the case management and doing the judgment.  And so, this time it was UCI.  I believe he denied testing the B Sample which is always an option for those athletes.  He did have his case management via Skype I believe with attorneys from the UCI and different representatives and the judgment came back that he will be banned from cycling and all sports at that, for four years.”