MOSCOW, Jan. 14 (UPI) -- Nikita Novikov, a promising Russian racing cyclist, has been banned for two years for using outlawed substances, Russia's anti-doping agency said Tuesday.
The agency, RUSADA, said the action was taken after Novikov tested positive last year for hydroxy-ostarine and o-dephenyl-ostarine, which are muscle growth stimulants, the Russian sports news agency R-Sport reported.
The International Cycling Union suspended him in June after he failed a doping test.
The ban runs until June 6, 2015, RUSADA said.
The 24-year-old won the Tour de Slovaquie and Tour des Pays de Savoie in 2011 with the Itera-Katusha team. He participated in 10 races in 2013 as part of the Dutch team Vacansoleil-DCM. He finished 14th in the general classification and sixth in the youth classification in the tour du Nord Pas-de-Calais in May.
Novikov's ban is the fourth in the last month for Russian cyclists.
