Mark French faces drug investigation
www.cyclingnews.com
Australian track sprinter Mark French has been named as the rider under investigation by the Australian Sports Commission and Cycling Australia for alleged doping offences. French, a multiple junior world champion, was sent a doping infraction notice on Wednesday afternoon, and he now has 14 days to request a hearing before the Court of Arbitration for Sport to contest the charges.
The investigation started just before Christmas when illegal drugs and syringes were allegedly found in French's room at the Australian Institute of Sport training centre in Adelaide. French had vacated the room before the drugs were found and he has also not tested positive to any banned substances.
French has not had his AIS scholarship renewed pending the outcome of the investigation. He was also not named in Australia's shadow Olympic squad. French has won the world junior sprint championship on two occasions (2001 and 2002) along with world junior titles in the team sprint (2001) and keirin (2002). He was also the UCI Track World Cup series champion in the sprint in 2003.
