Raimondas Rumšas

Raimondas Rumšas (born 14 January, 1972 in Šilutė, Lithuania), a professional road bicycle racer since 1996, who came out of nowhere to rank third in the standings of the 2002 Tour de France.

Shortly after his third place finish (which he clinched on the last day of the Tour) police discovered a cocktail of performance-enhancing drugs including (growth hormone) in the car of his wife, Edita Rumšienė. Rumšas had already left France but she was jailed for several months before being released, despite her claim that the drugs were for her mother-in-law.

In January 2006 Rumšas has been given a four-month suspended prison sentence by the Bonneville court for the importation of prohibited doping substances. His wife Edita was given the same sentence with a 3,000 euros fine on identical charges, while Polish doctor Krzysztof Ficek was handed a 12-month suspended sentence for prescribing the drugs.

Rumšas failed a dope test after he ranked sixth at the 2003 Giro d'Italia. Rumšas received a one-year ban after testing positive for the banned endurance enhancer Erythropoietin (EPO).

Victories

; 1999: Stage 4 - PruTour; 2000: Giro di Lombardia; 2001: Vuelta al País Vasco; 2002: 3rd Tour de France

ee also

* List of sportspeople sanctioned for doping offences
* List of doping cases in cycling

External links

*trapfriis|lithuania.Rumsas.htm