American Danielson suspended after positive test

By Julien Pretot PARIS (Reuters) - American rider Tom Danielson has been suspended by his Cannondale-Garmin team after testing positive for synthetic testosterone but he denies taking a banned substance. The team issued a statement on Monday saying Danielson had returned an "adverse analytical A sample using carbon isotope testing" and had been suspended immediately. Danielson, who is awaiting the results of his B sample and could face a lifetime ban if that concurs wit the A sample, said on Twitter he had not used performance-enhancing drugs. "While I was eating dinner with my team the night before the Tour of Utah I received a call from USADA notifying me that an out of competition test I gave July 9 has tested positive for, from what I understand, synthetic testosterone," Danielson said. "I have not taken this or any other banned substance." Danielson, 37, has already served a six-month ban, in 2012-13, after admitting to blood doping while riding with The Discovery Channel team. The 37-year-old said he would skip the Tour of Utah, which starts on Monday. He won the race the last two years. "I feel incredibly hurt, frustrated, and angry by this. I don't understand how or why this happened and still can't even accept this is true," added Danielson, who placed eighth in the 2011 Tour de France. (Reporting by Julien Pretot; editing by Martyn Herman)