6 Russians suspended from cross-country World Cup races

By AP
Published

OBERHOFEN, Switzerland (AP) Six Russian cross-country skiers found guilty in the Sochi Olympic doping investigation have been barred from World Cup races.

The International Ski Federation says it is ''distraught over the magnitude of the systematic conspiracy.''

The ski body imposed provisional bans Thursday on Alexander Legkov, Maxim Vylegzhanin, Evgeny Belov, Alexei Petukhov, Yulia Ivanova and Evgenia Shapovalova.

All six were eligible for the opening World Cup meeting in Finland last weekend as FIS awaited more paperwork from the International Olympic Committee. The IOC disqualified all six from the 2014 Games in November and imposed lifetime Olympic bans.

FIS says its doping panel will soon hold full hearings in each case.

Legkov won a gold and silver medal in Sochi, and Vylegzhanin won three silvers.