Aged just 18 years, Kristjan Kumar tested positive for EPO on the very day he denied Eddie Dunbar overall victory at the Trofeo Karlsberg Nations Cup stage race in Germany back in June. Kumar, now provisionally suspended by the UCI, is seen here winning stage 2a of the race, with Dunbar in 5th in the green of Ireland.
Having received the anticipated news this week that he had been selected to ride the junior road race at the World Championships in Spain in two weeks, Eddie Dunbar's season has taken an unexpected twist today.
In June the top Irish junior finished a fantastic 2nd overall in the Trofeo Karlsberg Nations Cup stage race in Germany, beaten only by Slovenian teenager Kristjan Kumar.
However, news has now emerged that the race winner returned a positive test for EPO in a sample collected by dope controllers on June 22nd, the day the race concluded.
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Kumar finished 4th on the opening stage, June 20th, while riding for the Slovenian national team.
He would go on to win stage 2a and come 4th in the stage 2b time trial, both the following day. And his 14th place on the final stage was enough to secure for him the overall victory from Ireland's Dunbar in second overall.
However, a sample collected from 18-year-old Kumar that day has tested positive for EPO, according to the UCI.
Kumar has since gone on to take 9th place in both the road race and time trial at the Junior European Road Championships, which took place in Switzerland in July. News of his June positive was not known then.
Runner up Eddie Dunbar, left, looks on graciously as Kumar celebrates his overall win after four stages over three days in June.
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The Nations Cup result was hugely significant for Irish rider Dunbar as he was competing in the race on the Irish team and was riding against a field made up of national teams for all over the world.
The Nations Cup is a series of races held each year, with the intention that the best riders in Europe and further afield meet to get exposure to tough international competition. There is also a separate U23 Nations Cup in which an Irish team competes.
Both competitions are watched very closely by talent scouts and managers from the top professional teams in the world with a view to identifying talent.
News of Kumar's positive test for EPO has been included on the UCI website among a list of riders provisionally suspended from competition after adverse findings and pending the outcome of their cases.
A note accompanying the list of cases said the riders featured were "serving a provisional suspension as a consequence of a potential or asserted anti-doping rule violation, of which the UCI has result management authority".
It continues: "Consequently, the individuals listed below cannot participate in any competition until the adjudication of the case or the lifting of the provisional suspension by the UCI Anti-Doping Commission as provided by the ADR."
It is not clear when Kumar's case will conclude. However, should the EPO finding be upheld against him, Dunbar would be promoted to winner of the Trofeo Karlsberg.
How we reported it at the time
Dunbar ushers himself onto world stage with career-best result in Nations Cup, Germany
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