Hondo dismissed over positive test
 |  Hondo finished second in the Milan-San Remo one day race in March |
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GEROLSTEIN, Germany -- German team Gerolsteiner have sacked star sprinter Danilo Hondo, after being informed by the International Cycling Union (UCI) that a B sample from a recent doping test is positive.
Hondo, 31, tested positive for carphedon, a banned stimulant that is effective in increasing physical endurance, twice during the Tour of Murcia in Spain earlier this month.
He won two stages and finished eighth in the event.
The Swiss-based cyclist, who came second in the season's first one-day classic the Milan-San Remo on March 19, was immediately suspended pending the outcome of the second B sample.
A second B test on a urine sample was also found positive, following analysis at an International Olympic Committee (IOC) accredited laboratory in Madrid.
Hondo, once a teammate of former Tour de France winner Jan Ullrich at Telekom during the period of 1999-2004, now risks a two-year suspension and his career could be effectively over.
Gerolsteiner, a mineral water company, said in a statement: "Our company is happy that its cycling team has gone through with the sacking."
It added: "We're sorry that it has involved Danilo Hondo, but we support all measures against doping. It is one of the pillars of our contracts."
Hondo's contract was due to run until December 2005.
Meanwhile, Gerolsteiner have announced that they will continue to sponsor the team until the end of 2008.
