MADRID (AFP) - Tour of Spain runner-up Santiago Perez protested his innocence of blood doping just weeks after Phonak teammate Tyler Hamilton failed a similar test.
"The news I have been given is that they have detected irregularities in my blood as a consequence of a transfusion from another person," Perez said.
"All I can say is that I have not undergone any type of blood transfusion. I am not sure what they are talking about. I am sure that the truth will come out very soon and it will show that none of what they are accusing me of is true."
Perez's positive for blood doping is the second ever after Olympic time-trial champion Hamilton.
The 27-year-old Perez was the revelation of the three-week Spanish race in September, winning three stages and finishing second overall behind Roberto Heras.
The Swiss-based team said in a statement Sunday that they were notified by the International Cycling Union (UCI) about the positive test result obtained on Perez on October 5 at UCI headquarters in Switzerland.
Phonak have suspended Hamilton but have questioned the scientific validity of the testing method for illcit blood transfusions
"Because this test's soundess and interpretation are still being disputed, the team management is maintaining the rider's innocence," Phonak said on Sunday, referring to Perez.
Hamilton twice tested positive for a blood transfusion in September. First in Athens after winning the Olympic time-trial gold medal and then after winning a time-trial in the Tour of Spain.
However, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) said the result of the B sample in Athens was "non-conclusive" because the sample had been destroyed by being deep-frozen.
Blood doping is a means of enhancing an athlete's endurance by increasing the amount of oxygen-carrying red cells in the blood stream, using his own blood or a donor of the same group.
10/31/2004 - 17:18 GMT - AFP