The international cycling world was hit by sad doping related news on Wednesday.

The bad news came when the UCI reported that Sylvain Georges (Ag2R La Mondiale) had returned a positive test for Heptaminol. The sport’s supreme body released the news on the same morning that Georges failed to start stage 11 of the Giro d’Italia, with the results returned by WADA’s endorsed laboratory in Rome.

Georges’ positive test was collected in an everyday test performed on May 10 and Georges has the right to request and attend the analysis of his B sample. Heptaminol is on WADA's list of banned substances and is used to relax muscles and to treat low blood pressure.

Last year the 29-year-old won a stage of the Tour of California and came second in Paris-Camembert earlier this season.

The UCI Anti-Doping Rules do not impose a provisional suspension given the nature of the substance, which is a specified substance. No professional rider has tested positive for the stimulant since Dmitriy Fofonov in the 2008 Tour de France. Eventually, Fofonov was given a three-month suspension. A similar punishment for Georges seems likely.