Russia’s top medal hope for the London 2012 cycling road race, Denis Galimzyanov, has confessed to taking a banned substance in a letter from the rider given to RIA Novosti on Tuesday by a person familiar with the case.
Galimzyanov was provisionally suspended by cycling’s UCI international federation on Monday after a urine sample he gave last month tested positive for the EPO hormone, which boosts red blood cell production.
The specialist sprinter had earlier been tipped as a rival for Britain’s Mark Cavendish at the Olympics in August by his coach, six-time Tour de France winner Erik Zabel.
“I confess to the fact of taking a banned substance,” Galimzyanov wrote.
“I am sorry that it turned out this way, and ask for forgiveness from the team, the guys I have worked and raced with, and the fans I have disappointed.”
Galimzyanov’s Katusha team played no part in the offense, he said.
“No one in the team knew or could have known what I did. It was my decision and my responsibility.”
Galimzyanov will waive the right to have a second sample tested, he said, adding that he is prepared to face “the appropriate punishment.”
The letter is signed by Galimzyanov and was provided to RIA Novosti by a trusted source.
Galimzyanov, 24, was likely to lead the Russian road race team in London and started 2012 with a stage win at the Circuit de la Sarthe before retiring injured.
In 2011, the Katusha rider won the points classification at both the Tour of Beijing and the Three Days of de Panne.
