After one year with the team, Juan José Lobato has split up with LottoNL-Jumbo due to a team rules violation that was confirmed December 13. He was found to have contraband sleep medication at a team camp in Girona, Spain.
While the medication was described as “non-doping-related” in a team statement, it was against team rules. Lobato, as well as two other riders, Antwan Tolhoek and Pascal Eenkhoorn, were immediately suspended. They were kicked out of the team camp that Wednesday.
On Monday, the team confirmed that Lobato, 28, was off the team. Tolhoek, 23, and Eenkhoorn, 20, were suspended for two months.
The team statement read:
“The team takes responsibility for the health of the riders, and experiments that endanger their health are not accepted. In the context of the talent development policy that Team LottoNL-Jumbo advocates, the team has reached out to Tolhoek and Eenkhoorn to provide them a continuing opportunity to develop into an exemplary professional cyclist.
“In the case of Juan José Lobato, it was decided to end the sporting cooperation in the interest of both the rider and the team. Lobato has had an emotionally eventful year and will have to concentrate on his recovery.”
Prior to his year with LottoNL, Lobato raced for three years with Movistar.
The Spaniard has won a few stages in one-week stage races. In 2015, he won stage 2 at Tour Down Under and stages 2 and 5 at Ruta del Sol. In 2017, he was second in stage 4 of the Vuelta a España.
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