Frances

French heptathlete Auriana Lazraq-Khlass has been provisionally suspended for anti-doping whereabouts failures, says the Athletics Integrity Unit.

The World Anti-Doping Code states an athlete cannot miss three anti-doping tests and/or filing failures within a 12-month period.

Lazraq-Khlass, who won silver at the European Championships in Rome in 2024, faces a two-year ban if the charge is upheld.

“The AIU has provisionally suspended Auriana Lazraq Khlass (France) for Whereabouts Failures,” the AIU said in a social media post., external

Lazraq-Khlass, 26, competed at the 2024 Olympics in Paris and finished 16th in the heptathlon.

The AIU website states that a provisional suspension means that an athlete cannot take part “in any competition or activity in athletics prior to a final decision at a hearing conducted under the World Athletics Anti-Doping Rules or the Integrity Code of Conduct”.

In a recent case, former world 100m champion Fred Kerley, of America, was banned for two years for anti-doping whereabouts failures.

It is the second time in three years organisers have been forced to abandon plans for a summit finish in the so-called ‘queen stage’ of the race, which concludes in Nice on Sunday.

Vingegaard goes into the final stage with a commanding lead of three minutes 22 seconds over Colombia’s Dani Martinez in the general classification.

“I think it is very important that we race. This is one of the biggest races in the world, but it was pretty slippery towards the end,” Vingegaard said.

“We were, and still are, very much in favour of racing. You have to understand that Paris-Nice is one of the biggest races in the world, there are many sponsors involved, and they want to stage their finish – so we were keen to race.

“But when the finish line is here, maybe it is no longer possible. It would have been better to place the finish line 10 kilometres earlier. For us as riders, rain is part of the job, but when there is snow it is different.

“There were a few crashes at the end, probably because it was very slippery. In that situation it would have been better to say, ‘Let’s move the finish line a little earlier’. That was what we actually wanted.”