Cycling: Spaniard faces ban

Spaniard Mikel Astarloza, who finished 11th in this year's Tour de France, has had a positive test for the banned blood booster EPO confirmed, his Euskaltel-Euskadi team said on their website yesterday.

Astarloza, 29, who won the 16th stage of the Tour, was provisionally suspended on July 31 for a positive out-of-competition test on his A sample. He faces a two-year ban.