Polish cyclist Aurela Nerlo, 28, says she has received a two-year ban for a ligandrol doping violation while maintaining that she never knowingly took a prohibited substance. In a Facebook statement published on Wednesday 21 October 2026, she said the Disciplinary Panel of the Polish Anti-Doping Agency (POLADA) found that the violation was not intentional but imposed the minimum available sanction, backdated to July 2025.
The case stems from an out-of-competition urine sample collected in July 2025 that tested positive for ligandrol (LGD-4033), a substance prohibited at all times. As we reported on Sunday 10 August 2025, she was provisionally suspended after both her A and B samples tested positive. She subsequently missed the Tour de France Femmes.
Nerlo says the source of the ligandrol was never identified. She says she had several dozen products tested, that a hair analysis returned a negative result, and that blood tests taken on the same day showed no abnormalities. She adds that an expert considered the findings consistent with unintended exposure and that she reported a possible criminal offence. These claims have not been independently verified, and we could not confirm them with POLADA.
Under the reported sanction, Nerlo’s ban would end around July 2027. Though, Gran Fondo Daily News could not obtain the full disciplinary decision, and no public statement from POLADA was available at the time of writing.
The positive test followed the best result of her career. At Omloop Het Nieuwsblad on Saturday 01 March 2025, Nerlo finished second to Lotte Claes, who won in 03:39:43 after a two-rider sprint. Nerlo recorded the same time, while Demi Vollering finished more than 3 minutes behind.
Nerlo apologised to her team, coaches and supporters. She urged fellow athletes to check every supplement and medicine carefully and to use POLADA’s educational materials.
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