After terminating his contract in December of last year, Colombian superstar Miguel Ángel López is taking his former team, Astana Qazaqstan, to the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Switzerland for breach of contract.
The 29-year-old, who is currently riding for Colombian Continental squad Team Medellín-EPM, saw his contract come to a swift end with Astana Qazaqstan citing his “probable connection” to a doctor being investigated for his potential involvement in the Operación Ilex doping scandal.
At the time, Astana Qazaqstan released a statement saying they “discovered new elements showing Miguel Ángel López’ probable connection with Dr. Marcos Maynar,” justifying their dismissal of the rider known as “Superman.”
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López hit back on Wednesday, releasing a public statement of his own via social media, claiming the connection between him and Dr. Maynar are tenuous at best and pointing out that that relationship is not currently under an active investigation. The statement continued, noting that one of Astana Qazaqstan’s masseurs, Vicente Belda Garciá, is, in fact being investigated in relation to the scandal. Garciá has since left the team.
The statement continued to note that the UCI has decided to block a bank warranty of the team for the amount of 1.7 million Euros in the event of the court ruling in López’s favor, which might thereby require a repayment of lost wages and further damages.
López also noted that he has not failed a doping test and that his services for a spot on a WorldTour team are currently open, reiterating that he is able and willing to sign with a team and race on the WorldTour level this season.
López’s career has been marked by glorious highs and very public lows, with Grand Tour stage wins and podiums offset by the troubles he had on a one-year contract with Team Movistar, as highlighted in the Netflix series, The Least Expected Day. Other than his one-year stint with Movistar, he’s spent his entire career with the Astana squad.
Michael Venutolo-Mantovani is a writer and musician based in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. He loves road and track cycling, likes gravel riding, and can often be found trying to avoid crashing his mountain bike.
