Katusha escapes team suspension despite second doping case

AIGLE, Switzerland (AP) The International Cycling Union says Katusha won't be suspended despite a second failed doping test in a 12-month period within the Russian team.

The UCI's disciplinary commission ruled that ''the conditions for a suspension of Team Katusha ... have not been met'' because one of the two riders who tested positive was banned for using a recreational drug.

Luca Paolini tested positive for cocaine at last year's Tour de France, then Russian cyclist Eduard Vorganov was provisionally suspended following a positive doping test for meldonium in an out-of-competition test on Jan. 14.

The disciplinary commission ruled that Paolini did not take cocaine to improve his sporting performances. It said that ''in this context, applying a suspension under article 7.12.1 when one of the two cases of Adverse Analytical Finding relates to the use of a social drug'' would be disproportionate.