In a rare rebuke to Italy’s National Anti-Doping Organization (NADO Italia), a Court of Arbitration of Sport (CAS) Sole Arbitrator in Switzerland recently upheld an appeal by 2018 UCI Gran Fondo World Champion Thommaso Elettrico of Italy and overturned his 2024 doping conviction.

With 80 claimed victories Elettrico, 38, is considered one of the top gran fondo cyclists in the world and was included in NADO Italia’s Registered Testing Pool (RTP). In 2024 NADO Italia accused him of manipulating the RTP athlete wherabouts system (ADAMS) and violating anti-doping Article 2.3 Evasion, Refusal or Failure to Present for the Collection of the Biological Sample.

According to the CAS Sole Arbitrator decision: “NADO Italia believed that the Athlete had long been planning to participate in the [2024] Strade Bianche race [where he finished 14th]. To prepare for the competition, the Athlete allegedly traveled to the Canary Islands to undergo a doping regimen. This would have made it necessary to evade NADO Italia’s controls. According to NADO Italia, the numerous changes the Athlete made to the ADAMS (the RTP tracking system) served precisely this purpose, the sole purpose of which was to make it more difficult for NADO Italia to plan and conduct doping controls.”

The Italian National Anti-Doping Tribunal court (TNA) agreed with NADO Italia, finding Elettrico guilty of violating Article 2.3 and issued a 4 year ban.

Elettrico then appealed the TNA decision and ban to CAS. After a year of multiple hearings, procedural decisions and arguments by attorneys (Elettrico had three), a CAS Sole Arbitrator believed the evidence provided was not sufficient to support a conviction of intentionally violating Article 2.3.

On 8 December 2025 the CAS Sole Arbitrator, Prof. Dr. Ulrich Haas, granted Elettrico an appeal victory, freeing the 38 year-old amateur cyclist from a 4 year NADO Italia ban.

But that may not be the end of Elettrico’s doping problems.

According to Item 77 in the CAS Sole Arbitrator decision: “The Respondent emphasized in the written procedure and at the hearing that another doping case is pending against the Athlete. This case concerns an alleged violation of Article 2.2 CSA (relating to “Use or Attempted Use by an Athlete of a Prohibited Substance or Method”) by the Athlete in connection with a biological passport.”

And Item 78: “On 8 September 2025, the Sole Arbitrator refused to take into consideration, in these proceedings, the circumstances relating to the Athlete’s biological passport. The latter are the subject of a separate pending proceeding and should not be taken into consideration here.”

Note: Athletes alleged to have committed anti-doping violations with proceedings pending are presumed innocent until they have an opportunity to present their case in court and a verdict is issued.

CAS Sole Arbitrator Decision HERE (English via Google)

CAS Sole Arbitrator Decision HERE (Italian original)

Photo Credit: UCI GFWS

© 2019-2026 All Rights Reserved Gran Fondo Daily