and launched an appeal<\/a> with the Court of Arbitration for Sport, which ultimately upheld the ban in May 2025.<\/p>\nHe then appealed that verdict to the Swiss Federal Tribunal, which has now ruled against him.<\/p>\n
Cycling\u2019s governing body the UCI welcomed the decision on Saturday. \u201cThe judgment confirms that the sanctions provided for under the UCI Anti-Doping Rules, including financial sanctions, pursue a legitimate objective in the interests of cycling and may be proportionate even when the amount involved is significant,\u201d it said in a statement.<\/p>\n
The UCI said that case is \u201cnow definitively closed.\u201d<\/p>\n
Busted for doping, robbed by bandits
\n![\"Miguel](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/GettyImages-1421939370.jpg\"\/)
Miguel \u00c1ngel L\u00f3pez (r) and Remco Evenepoel at the 2022 Vuelta (Photo: Tim de Waele\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n
\u00c1ngel L\u00f3pez was once the budding new star of Colombian cycling, and seen as a potential successor to Nairo Quintana. He turned pro with Astana in 2015 and won the Tour de Suisse and Milan-Turin the following season.<\/p>\n
He took two stages of the Vuelta a Espa\u00f1a in 2017 and the following year finished third in both that event plus the Giro d\u2019Italia.<\/p>\n
A stage win in the 2020 Tour prefaced a move to the Movistar Team, but he failed to shine there, quitting the Vuelta on stage 20 while sitting third overall.<\/p>\n
He returned to Astana in 2022 and lined out in the Giro, but was a DNF on stage 4.<\/p>\n
The doping charges against him relate to that period and to the interception of a parcel containing Menotropin that was allegedly addressed to him.<\/p>\n
Evidence was provided to the International Testing Agency (ITA) by the Spanish Guardia Civil and the Spanish Anti-Doping Organization (CELAD).<\/p>\n
That evidence was part of Operation \u201cIlex,\u201d an investigation into Spanish doctor Marcos Maynar concerning the alleged trafficking of unauthorized medicines that could pose a risk to public health.<\/p>\n
As noted Saturday by the UCI in its statement, \u00c1ngel L\u00f3pez\u2019 appeal to the Swiss Federal Tribunal claimed that on the CELAD Evidence and imposing a significant fine violated procedural and substantive guarantees under the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).<\/p>\n
The Federal Tribunal rejected this in a judgement dated August 19. It also found that the fine was compatible with substantive public policy and the guarantees of the ECHR.<\/p>\n
The UCI greeted the decision Saturday. It said that it reiterates \u201cits determination to protect the integrity of cycling and to ensure fair competition.\u201d<\/p>\n
As for \u00c1ngel L\u00f3pez, the decision is the latest blow in a turbulent few years. In addition to his doping sanctions and battles, he was robbed at gunpoint at his home in Colombia in 2023 and held for three hours by bandits.<\/p>\n
Now 32 and unlikely to find a pro team when his ban ends next July, it\u2019s been a long comedown from his Superman days.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Former climbing star Miguel \u00c1ngel L\u00f3pez unsuccessful in latest bid to fight four year sanction and huge fine.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":776293,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[4985,45284,101,126028,255965,255966,96877,45288,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-776292","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cycling","tag-cycling","tag-parent_category-road","tag-sports","tag-tag-anti-doping","tag-tag-doping","tag-tag-miguel-angel-lopez","tag-tag-uci","tag-type-article","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/776292","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=776292"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/776292\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/776293"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=776292"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=776292"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=776292"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"Miguel](\"https:\/\/velo-cdn.outsideonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/GettyImages-1429976529.jpg\")
<\/p>\n