Miguel Ángel López gets new hope in doping case, but his fight is far from over

The former Giro d’Italia and Vuelta a España podium finisher is serving a four year suspension linked to Operation Ilex, the Spanish investigation into doctor Marcos Maynar and an alleged network involving banned substances. López has always denied using prohibited products.

A recent ruling from a criminal court in Cáceres, as reported by Marca, has now added a new twist to the case. The court found that it had not been proven that menotropin sent by Maynar in April 2022 ever reached López, or that the Colombian used it before or during the 2022 Giro d’Italia.

The same ruling also stated that no proven link had been established between the substance and the leg inflammation that forced López to abandon that race.

That conclusion is significant for López’s defence. His legal team has long argued that there was no positive doping test and no direct scientific evidence proving that he used a banned substance.

The sporting authorities reached a different verdict. The UCI suspended López for four years, a sanction later upheld by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). In the disciplinary process, officials concluded that the rider had received, possessed and used menotropin, including through a microdosing protocol.

The contrast between the two outcomes has now become the centre of López’s fight. In the criminal case, key parts of the accusation were not proven to the required standard. In the sporting case, the evidence was considered strong enough to keep him out of competition until 2027.

López has challenged the decision at the Swiss Federal Tribunal. His defence could also take the case to the European Court of Human Rights if necessary. There is a financial element as well, with possible claims linked to his former contract reportedly reaching around one million euros.

For now, López remains in Colombia, far away from the WorldTour . The rider once known as one of the most explosive climbers in the peloton has kept a lower profile during his suspension and spends much of his time around family businesses, including a butcher’s shop.

His last race came at the Tour de Panamá in 2023. Unless the appeals change the outcome, López will be eligible to compete again on 24 July 2027. He will be 33 by then, an age at which a comeback is still possible, but after years away from elite racing, far from guaranteed.