UCI MASTERS WORLD CHAMPION SUSPENDED FOR DOPING VIOLATION

Last week the Italian National Anti Doping Organization (NADO) provisionally suspended 2021 UCI Masters Mountain Bike World Champion Andrea D’Oria for defying anti-doping rules and refusing or failing to submit a biological test sample.

He is the seventh UCI amateur world champion to be suspended for breaking anti-doping rules in the past few years.

Specifically, D’Oria, 37, is accused of violating World Anti Doping Agency (WADA) article 2.3: “Evading Sample collection; or refusing or failing to submit to Sample collection without compelling justification after notification by a duly authorized Person.”

The violation and subsequent suspension occurred one year after D’Oria (ASD Cicli Taddei) won his world championship title and rainbow jersey on a 63 kilometers long mountain bike gran fondo course in Barga, Italy.

During the period of D’Oria’s provisional suspension, he cannot participate in any capacity in any competition or any other activity either at the international or national level organized by any signatory of the World Anti-Doping Code.

A NADO court hearing has not yet been scheduled for D’Oria to present his case, but if he immediately agrees to accept and not challenge NADO’s findings the duration of his final ban may be reduced.

2022 has seen a marked increase in amateur riders violating anti-doping article 2.3, rather than submit to actual testing, especially if they know a positive test result is a certainty. In the end though, whether testing positive for a banned substance or refusing to submit a test sample, both are serious anti-doping violations that carry the same penalty and sanction.

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