After winning the Circuit des communes de la vallée du Bédat, Sylvain Georges won the last week Châteauroux-Limoges. He performed his come-back for which he worked for eighteen months. A great opportunity to make a clarification about his case.

However, the recent revelation of a positive EPO test by Ag2r’s Lloyd Mondory’s has overshadowed Georges’ initial steps towards what he hopes will be a return to the pro peloton. He insists, however, the two cases and a further EPO positive for Steve Houanard when he was with Ag2r in 2012 should not be linked.

“The only think I’ve got in common with those two riders is that fact that we belonged to the same team,” Georges told Clermont-Ferrand-based newspaper La Montagne. “Having paid a heavy price for my negligence, I would like people to talk about my return and my results rather than the past.”

He added according to Velo Club: “I’ve fought to show that I’ve been nothing more than negligent, which has been recognised by the courts. I’ve been sanctioned on that basis and not as a cheat. It upsets me to see it regarded as a ‘doping case’… a division has to be made between those who are cheating deliberately and a positive test as a result of molecule that’s present in a product for sale in pharmacies.”

He hopes to do a great season in order to return in the pro peloton: “I wanted to return to the amateur ranks in 2015 in order to find my bearings again and prove that being out of competition for 18 months hasn’t stopped me from getting back to a very good level,” said Georges. “We’ll see what 2016 brings. I do have a thought of finding a good team and returning to the pro peloton in the back of my head.”