Published February 1, 2016 04:44PM
Kocjan positive for EPO in 2012 test
Slovenian Jure Kocjan is provisionally suspended for a 2012 anti-doping sample that revealed the presence of EPO
With his second-place finish in the stage 2 sprint, Jure Kocjan (SmartStop) took over the 2014 Tour of Utah's yellow jersey by a narrow margin of two seconds. Photo: Casey B. Gibson | <a href="http://www.cbgphoto.com">www.cbgphoto.com</a>
Slovenian Jure Kocjan has been provisionally suspended by the UCI after a 2012 sample, taken a day prior to Dwars door Drenthe in the Netherlands, was found positive for EPO.
Kocjan, who was racing for Team Type 1-Sanofi at the time, is the second Slovenian rider to be placed on the UCI’s provisional suspension list based on tests of frozen samples. Mountain biker Blaza Klemencic was provisionally suspended for EPO in September for a sample that was also taken in March 2012. Kocjan’s Team Type 1 teammate Alexey Schmidt was banned based on a frozen sample from November, 2011.
After turning pro in 2008, Kocjan came to the United States to race with Team Type 1 in 2011, and 2012, Kocjan signed with Euskaltel-Euskadi for one season the following year. He returned to the U.S. with Team SmartStop in 2015, and won a stage of the Larry H. Miller Tour of Utah with that team in 2014.
SmartStop folded at the end of last season, and Kocjan signed with Lupus Racing, another continental team.