Team Katusha rider Luca Paolini has been sent home from the Tour de France after testing positive for cocaine.
The 38-year-old returned the positive sample on Tuesday, and will not start tomorrow's stage.
"In accordance with UCI anti-doping rules, the rider has been provisionally suspended until the adjudication of the affair," the UCI said in a statement.
Paolini, who won Ghent-Wevelgem earlier this year, has the right to request and attend the analysis of the B sample.
