The revelation comes almost exactly a year after Boonen first tested positive for cocaine in an out-of-competition test. On that occasion, his Quick Step team stood by him, declined to fine him and signed him up to a new two-year contract to start when the present contract runs out. Since that test, too, was out of competition, there were no official sanctions from the sport’s governing bodies. But the organisers of the 2008 Tour of Switzerland and Tour de France made it clear he would not be welcome as a participant.

Boonen was found guilty of possession of cocaine earlier this year by a court in Turnhout, but the judge decided the 28-year-old cyclist had been punished enough and did not hand down a sentence.

The new offence has already caused a different reaction. Quick Step lost no time at the weekend, as soon as the news became public, in suspending Boonen pending an investigation. It has also ordered him to seek addiction therapy.

A number of other problems loom. Boonen was due to take part next week in the Tour of Catalonia, part of the run-up to the Tour de France. As Flanders Today went to press, the reaction of the tour’s organisers had not yet been received. Also expected to react are Boonen’s sponsor, the California-based cycle manufacturer Specialized. Meanwhile, it is estimated that Boonen’s participation in the Tour de France is worth some €3 million to his team.

The International Cycling Union (UCI) might consider Boonen, as a recidivist, to have brought the sport into disrepute, which could carry a penalty, whether the test was in competition or not. UCI chairman Pat McQuaid called Boonen “a very foolish guy. Last year he received a warning because of the same behaviour. And yet he seems to have learned nothing. For the damage done to the image of cycling, he could be called before the disciplinary committee,” McQuaid said.

This week it was reported that this is in fact Boonen’s third offence. In November 2007 he tested positive for cocaine and ecstasy. But since those substances are only banned in competition, the laboratory in Ghent delivered a negative report suggesting Boonen was clean.

Finally, the justice system is unlikely to be as lenient towards a repeat offender as it was earlier this year. Use of cocaine is punishable by a fine of between €1,000 and €100,000, as well as up to five years in jail.