Team AG Insurance-Soudal has thrown a life-line to young Belgian cyclist Shari Bossuyt, a chance to race pro again after serving a two-year doping suspension.

On Thursday after “careful consideration and several conversations with Shari” the Belgian team issued a press release announcing Bossuyt was now training with the team and would return to racing mid-June.

As an up-and-coming 22 year-old rider Bossuyt failed a French Anti-Doping Agency (AFLD) test for the banned substance Letrozole on 19 March 2023 – the day she won her first professional race at the Tour of Normandy.

Although Bossuyt received a 2-year ban for the anti-doping violation, she claimed to not know how it happened. “I have no idea how the product ended up in my body,” she said. “Why me? I’ve often wondered.”

Although AFLD acknowledged that Letrozole found in Bossuyt’s test sample was likely the result of unintentional actions, she was nonetheless handed a 2-year ban under the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) Strict Liability principle, where athletes are solely responsible for all substances that enter their body, either intentionally or unintentionally.

Letrozole is a drug commonly prescribed to treat breast cancer, but some athletes use it illicitly it to minimize side effects associated with taking banned anabolic steroids.

Photo Credit: Belga

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