The people behind the Tour de France don’t play around. They are hell-bent on cleaning up the sport of cycling and have done a pretty good job of it this summer. Another competitor has been arrested and thrown out of the race following a positive test for performance-enhancing drugs.

Moises Duenas Nevado of Spain tested positive for EPO, setting of a chain of events that resulted in his imprisonment. French police conducted a search warrant in the cyclist’s Tarbes hotel room and seized what was described as “banned medicines,” according to published reports.

Nevado, 27, is the second rider to be thrown out of the Tour following countryman Manuel Beltran, who was competing with an Italian team. It was less than a week ago that Beltran also tested positive for EPO.

Neither should expect help to come out of their union dues. “I just can’t understand when these guys are going to learn,” International Cycling Union president Pat McQuaid said to reporters. “If the ‘B’ sample is positive, then all I can say is the guy’s a fool. The net is closing in.”

Before the positive test, Nevado was holding on to the 19th position in the race.

Photo credit: Super Sports

Manuel Beltran of Spain not only has been disqualified from the Tour de France, he was physically removed by French police after testing positive for EPO, a performance-enhancing drug used for energy, endurance and recovery. Although unconfirmed, it was also said that there was a raid conducted by local authorities where Beltran and his teammates were staying.

The positive test was conducted following the first stage of the bicycle race, back on July 5. Pierre Bordry, the leader of the French anti-doping agency, told reporters “there are not just traces of EPO, there is EPO.”

The remaining members of Beltran’s Italian Liguigas team were allowed to continue in the race. The team immediately removed him after the positive blood test, and will await the results of a second sample before making any further decisions on his future with them.

This comes at a bad time for the sport of cycling, with the last two Tour de France races filled with riders testing positive for testosterone and other PEDs. “It’s a damaging blow,” International Cycling Union president Pat McQuaid said to reporters. “Once again, it proves that individuals are ready to take stupid risks.”

Beltran has been a part of three Tour winning teams in 2003, 2004 and 2005.