BEIJING (AP):

In the first official doping case of the Beijing Olympics, Spanish cyclist Maria Isabel Moreno was kicked out of the Games yesterday after testing positive for EPO.

Moreno, who had been due to compete in the women's road race and individual time trial, was tested in the athletes' village on July 31 and left China later the same day before learning the result, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) said.

IOC spokeswoman Giselle Davies said Moreno's sample came back positive for EPO, a blood-boosting hormone that enhances endurance and has been at the centre of numerous doping scandals in cycling in recent years.

The IOC expelled Moreno from the Games, revoked her accreditation and asked cycling's world governing body, the UCI, to follow up for any further sanctions. Athletes found guilty of using EPO normally face a two-year ban.