Live blog: Samuel Sanchez handed two-year doping ban, #BloodyCyclists – bike commuter in India praised for leading ambulance through traffic jam, (£10k) Bikes Under The Hammer + more

Samuel Sanchez, the 2008 Olympic road race champion, has been handed a backdated two-year ban for doping– although the UCI accepted his explanation that his positive test arose from a contaminated supplement.

The 41-year-old was sacked by BMC Racing in October 2017 after his B-sample was found to be positive, with the date from which his ban takes effect being 17 August of that year, the day on which he was provisionally suspended.

Sanchez, second overall at the Vuelta in 2009 and Tour de France the following year after Alberto Contador and Denis Menchov were disqualified for doping, has not raced since.

News of his ban comes as former German national champion Danilo Hondo, now retired, admitted being part of a blood doping ring being investigated in the German city of Erfurt, with his confession leading to him being sacked as coach to the Swiss national cycling federation.

Ready for the bunch sprint? | Siete pronti per la volata?
11 km#Giropic.twitter.com/64aVXWCmuS

— Giro d'Italia (@giroditalia) May 13, 2019

It's all set up for a furoious sprint finish here. 

British road champion Connor Swift has joined the French team Arkea-Samsic with immediate effect, with his principal role there being to provide leadout duties for 11-time Tour de France stage winner, Andre Greipel.

The 23-year-old, ninth overall at the Tour de Yorkshire earlier this month and the cousin of Team Ineos rider Ben Swift, has raced for Madison-Genesis since 2017 and also had a spell as a trainee with Dimension Data last year.

 He said: “I’m over the moon with the opportunity that has come around! Things like this don’t happen often and to be able to step up to Pro Continental level with Arkea and go there to be part of a team helping out Griepel will be pretty surreal.

"I am super thankful to everyone involved to make this happen and of course Madison Genesis for the past two years and allowing me to step up and leave the team mid-season.

"I’m excited to kick things off with Arkea which seems like a great team and one that also has a really good race programme too.

"The hard racing on rolling terrain in France will suit me,” he added. “I’m sure it’s going to develop me more as a rider and I’m keen to learn from the more experienced riders."

This morning Ubyk's liquidated stock, apparently worth over a quarter of a million pounds, went up for auction in North Lincolnshire. Details of the items were given on the CJM Assets website, including some rather interesting descriptions from folk we assume aren't too used to seeing high-end bikes and gear in the auction room: "Jaws dropped at the Eddisons CJM auction room in Scunthorpe when one small box was found to contain a lightweight bike seat . . . weighing in at just two ounces . . . that came with a price tag of £407 attached.

"The auction has been ordered following the collapse of Oxford and Brighton-based Ubyk, one of the country’s poshest independent cycling retailers."

We think the 'bike seat', unusually weighed in ounces rather than grams (two ounces is about 57g), is actually from US saddle specialists Dash, as Ubyk were known to be one of the only UK stockists of the brand. Auctioneer Paul Cooper said: “I have to say the seat did cause a lot of comment. It is featherlight, quite remarkable, but who pays £450 of their own money on a bike saddle? If I was that worried about weight I would get on a diet for a few days – but I suppose the riders who want this sort of thing have already done that!” 

Thanks for that assessment Paul. There were also Parlee bikes and Cippolini frames for sale, worth in excess of £10,000 at full RRP. Cooper helpfully reminds us: "They’re hand built, carbon fibre, with Zipp carbon wheels, although you don’t get pedals at that price. They’re extra". 

The auction was set to close at midday today. We'll be scouring the interweb to see if anyone managed to pick up any 'bargains' this afternoon...

The New Argon 18 E-118 Pro gets disc brakes and improved aerodynamics, and is being used by the Astana team during the Giro d'Italia time trial stages. Full story here. 

Here are some of our top stories from the weekend...

James Cracknell urges cyclists to wear helmets after being photographed riding without one

Arrest made as Vélo Birmingham & Midlands marshal reportedly run over and left with broken hip

Primoz Roglic wins opening time trial at Giro d'Italia (+ reaction and highlights)

Cyclists far less likely to break traffic laws than motorists finds study