CAS hands German cyclist two-year doping ban

German cyclist Danilo Hondo was banned Tuesday for two years for doping. The Court of Arbitration for Sport upheld an appeal from cycling's governing body and the World Anti-Doping Agency against the 31-year-old Hondo's original ban, which they said was too light.

Swiss Olympic, Switzerland's sports disciplinary body, banned Hondo for two years in June for twice testing positive for the stimulant carphedon during the Tour of Murcia, where he won two stages and wore the leader's yellow jersey. But that ban would have allowed Hondo to start racing again in 2006 on probation.

"The results of the analyses provided by the Madrid Laboratory could not be called into question and that accordingly, the presence of carphedon in the urine of Danilo Hondo was clearly established," CAS said in a statement. "The Panel concluded that the usual two-year suspension provided for by the UCI Rules and by the World Anti-Doping Code should be imposed upon Danilo Hondo." The Lausanne-based court rejected Hondo's appeal to have the ban annulled. Hondo was fired last year from Swiss team Gerolsteiner, but denied knowingly taking the stimulant, reports the AP. N.U.