Daniel Zamora sprays the champagne after the final stage of the Vuelta a San Juan 2019 (Image credit: Bettini Photo)

Vuelta a San Juan king of the mountains winner Daniel Zamora has been provisionally suspended by the UCI after returning an adverse analytical finding for EPO. Finishing 12th overall, Zamora was also the best-placed Argentinian in the general classification.

As of Tuesday morning, the UCI has not released a statement regarding Zamora, but the Agrupacion Virgen De Fatima rider was added to the governing body’s list of suspended riders.

The sample date is listed as January 30, which would be following the fourth stage from San José de Jáchal to Villa San Agustín. Zamora finished in the top five on stages 2 and 6 of the seven-day race and eventually finished 1:39 down on overall victor Winner Anacona of Movistar.

Zamora has the right to have his B sample tested, but if the initial finding is upheld he could face as much as a four-year ban. Zamora returned a ‘non-negative’ test during the 2014 Vuelta a San Juan but escaped sanction on that occasion as it was not a UCI-registered event at the time.

The 2018 Vuelta a San Juan winner, Gonzalo Najar, was given a four-year ban after he tested positive for the blood booster CERA. His teammate Gaston Javier also tested positive for anabolic steroids during the same event. Javier has not received a ban and is still on the UCI’s provisional suspension list.