The International Testing Agency (ITA), which runs the UCI’s independent anti-doping programme, has reported that Polish cyclist Daria Pikulik accepted an 18-month period of ineligibility for an anti-doping rule violation.
According to the ITA, Pikulik committed three Whereabouts Failures within a 12-month period, resulting in an Article 2.4 violation of the UCI Anti-Doping Rules. The ITA did not disclose if the failures were missed tests or filing ommissions, or when they occurred. Pikulik did not challenge the violation and agreed to the consequences proposed by the ITA, so the case was resolved without a hearing.
Her period of ineligibility ran from 09 December 2024 until 08 June 2026. Although the ban has ended, she has yet to return to competition and officially left the Human Powered Health team in March 2026. All her results during the ineligibility period were disqualified, including any medals, points and prizes. The decision can be appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport by parties with the right to appeal. The ITA said it would not comment further.
The 29-year-old won silver in the track cycling omnium at Paris 2024, securing Poland’s first Olympic track cycling medal in 52 years. The medal came shortly before the ineligibility period began in December 2024.
This was not a positive test, and no banned substance was involved. In an Instagram statement, Pikulik said she had never intended to break the rules and had passed dozens of anti-doping tests. She attributed the missed tests to oversight and a heavy workload and apologised to those she had let down.
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