It seems The Tour of South Florida amateur bike race is a very popular destination for dopers and the United States Anti Doping Agency (USADA).

Testing by USADA in February at the 2020 edition of the race has now caught two amateur cyclists for using banned performance enhancing substances.

In July we reported 43 year-old amateur cyclist Leynier Alonso (HGBS/Corratec Team), of Miami Gardens, Florida, tested positive for phentermine at the Tour of South Florida and was suspended from competition for four years.

Now USADA says second a middle-aged cyclist, 54 year-old Jeff Martin (FLO Factory Team), of Denver, Colorado also tested positive for a banned substance, testosterone, at the Tour of South Florida.

Both cyclists returned positive results on 16 February as the result of an in-competition drug test after finishing 1st (Martin) and 2nd (Alonso) at the event.

USADA determined that Martin’s positive test was caused by a prescribed medication containing testosterone, which Martin declared on his doping control form.

Although the testosterone was taken at the direction of a physician and Martin cooperated with USADA’s investigation, Martin did not have a valid Therapeutic Use Exemption (TUE). Under the USADA TUE Policy, an athlete has the sole responsibility to demonstrate in advance of using a prohibited substance the medical need to treat an acute or chronic condition.

Martin’s athlete bio on the FLO Factory Team website indicates he is a healthcare professional with over 30 years experience and an accomplished cyclist who has raced for over 15 years.

With those credentials it is hard to imagine this was a just a simple mistake by someone new to the sport.

Martin is ineligible to compete or participate in events until 16 February 2022.

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