'Meat of champions' – suspended Tour de France stage winner opens butcher's in Colombia

“The secret is to use meat of the highest quality from Meat Bros… the best sausages in Colombia.” These are the words of Tour de France stage winner Miguel Ángel López, speaking in his latest video on Instagram, as another man feeds hunks of pork into a mincing machine.

Suspended since July 2023 for an anti-doping violation, this is the Colombian's new day to day. López previously rode on the WorldTour for Astana and Movistar, but has now – temporarily, at least – swapped his lycra for a white chef’s shirt, and taken up a new life as a butcher.

The walls of the 31-year-old's new store, Meat Bros, are pristine white. By way of decoration, there's a poster of a cow, another of the different beef cuts, and a life-sized one of the suspended rider, dressed in the light blue of Astana, celebrating his Tour stage win in 2020.

López was given a four-year ban, backdated to 25 July 2023, in spring last year for the use and possession of Menotropin, a banned substance used in fertility treatments. Announcing the suspension, the UCI said the charges dated back to the 2022 Giro d’Italia, and came as part of the governing body's Operation Ilex doping ring investigation.

López has repeatedly maintained his innocence. His appeal before the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), however, was dismissed in May 2025, and he remains suspended until 24 July 2027, by which time he will be 33.

What to do until then? Open a butcher's, shape sausages, and sell steaks to the city of Sogamoso, it appears.

Announcing the new venture with their grand opening earlier this month, Meat Bros promised on Instagram that they would serve “only top-quality meat of champions”.

“Thank you to every person that supported us, believed in this project, and was part of this grand opening. This is just the beginning… welcome to the home of good meat,” the post read.

López was let go by Astana in December 2022, with the WorldTour team citing his “probable connection” to a doctor under investigation in Operation Ilex.

The following season, the former Giro d'Italia and Vuelta a España podium finisher returned to Colombia and joined Team Medellín-EPM. His final race was the 2023 Vuelta a Colombia, which he dominated from start to finish, winning nine out of 10 stages and the overall, as well as the points and mountains classifications.