Asia Tour star Jesse Ewart banned for three years after returning a positive in-competition test for EPO

The UCI has suspended Australian-born Irish cyclist Jesse Ewart for three years, citing an anti-doping rule violation after an in-competition doping control test came back positive for Erythropoietin (EPO), with the ineligibility period for the athlete running through to May 15, 2027.

Sport Integrity Australia said in a release that the 30-year-old rider from the Malaysian-based Terengganu Cycling team returned an Adverse Analytical Finding (AAF) after a doping control test on January 26. The test took place after Ewart crossed the line first on stage 1 of the 2.2 ranked Tour of Sharjah. All Ewart's results onwards, including this stage win, were struck out.

Those results included a second place in the mountains classification at the 2.1 ranked Tour de Taiwan, second at the 1.2 Bueng Si Fai International race, and another stage win on day four of the 2.1 Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn’s Cup Tour of Thailand.

Since 2016, Ewart has been more or less successfully cruising through the continental ranks in Asia, winning six times between 2018 and 2019. In 2021, Ewart's career nearly ended in a training accident with a car, after which the rider managed to, step-by-step return to his best form. However with the EPO finding, a shadow of doubt will be inevitably cast upon his accomplishments prior to the race in United Arab Emirates.

The stage win in itself was a bizarre one, with the Irish rider winning from a breakaway of three. However his companions didn't even attempt to sprint against Ewart, who had been pulling for good five kilometers on the flat run-in to the finish. There was a word about bribing the opponents, but those conspiracies had never become more than just that - conspiracies.