UPDATE: Lanzi received an 18 month ban by the UCI, ending 1 May 2023.
After winning the amateur 2021 UCI World MTB Marathon Championship in the 45-49 year-old category, Italian Stefano Lanzi tested positive for the banned substance Clenbuterol and has been provisionally suspended from competition by the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI).
Lanzi is the second amateur UCI World Champion to be suspended for alleged doping violations this month after 2017 UCI Gran Fondo World Champion Simona Parente was suspended by the Italian Cycling Federation.
The 46 year-old Lanzi claims the positive result is due to taking Cortisone for a past injury and told Italy24 he will put forth a vigorous defense at his trial and “explain everything shortly.”
Adding, “Last year I was the victim of a bad injury in which I broke some vertebrae and spent a few days in traction on a hospital bed, since then I have been prescribed medicines, some based on cortisone, my mistake was never having communicated it to the anti-doping authorities.”
Clenbuterol is an anabolic agent that is traditionally prescribed to treatment asthma, however it has also been widely used as a performance-enhancing substance by endurance athletes.
Lanzi explained his positive test result as a case of poor judgement.
“At the Doping Control I presented myself with all my medical records of the injury in tow thinking I was in good faith, but the doctors did not hear any reasons and they did not even want to see it, motivating that my particular situation should be previously reported to the competent body, which unfortunately I never did because I thought it was not required.”
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