Michael Rogers has now been provisionally suspended after returning an adverse analytical finding for clenbuterol. The Saxo-Tinkoff rider returned the positive test following his victory at the Japan Cup on October 20.

If an an analysis of the B sample confirms the positive test, Rogers faces a suspension of up to two years under Article 21 of the UCI Anti-Doping Rules.

"The decision to provisionally suspend this rider was made in response to a report from the WADA-accredited laboratory in Tokyo indicating an adverse analytical finding of clenbuterol in a urine sample collected from him in a test during the Japan Cup Cycle Road Race on 20 October 2013," reads the UCI statement.

Before the Japan Cup, Rogers rode the Tour of Beijing and he could have eaten contaminated meat while in China. The country has had problems with illegal additives in pig feed before, but since a ban of clenbuterol was announced by China’s Ministry of Agriculture, the situation has improved.

Two years ago, the World Anti-Doping Agency warned athletes to exercise "extreme caution" when eating in China to avoid meat contamination. This means that blaming a steak is not an acceptable excuse for testing positive.

Clenbuterol is a fat-burning and muscle-building anabolic agent that is on WADA’s banned list.



Also Belgium's Jonathan Breyne (Crelan-Euphony) has returned a positive A-sample test for Clenbuterol and is also provisionally suspended. Breyne was tested at the Tour of Taihu Lake in China, on November 5.