British rider Elizabeth Banks wins battle to clear her name against UK anti-doping agency but retires as a consequence
Cycling
Former EF Education-TIBCO-SVB rider Elizabeth Banks has opened up about her battle to clear her name after returning an adverse analytical finding in a UK Anti-Doping test last July. As a result, Banks has spent much of the past year attempting to clear her name, with UKAD insisting on handing her a two-year ban, she wrote in an entry on her personal website.
"This process has cost me a huge amount, literally and metaphorically. My husband and I spent every penny of our savings and the huge mental toll has left deep scars," Banks wrote.
"But somehow, through it all, I knew I had to fight. Right from the start, I learnt of other athletes in the similar situations with a contamination of chlortalidone, whose lives and careers were also being torn apart."
An interview with Banks published by The Telegraph on Tuesday states that Banks and her husband estimated that they have spent over £40,000 fighting the cases, adding that she's now ending her career as a result of the ordeal.
In the interview, Banks says that she "couldn't risk putting her family through something like this ever again" should she return to racing. Her retirement is official as of today.
"WADA have known there was something up here for years, and yet they've not done anything about it," she said.
"How does WADA compensate athletes that have been wrongly accused of cheating? How do they give them back those two years of life? Repay them for all the lost earnings and legal fees? Repair their shattered mental health? The short answer is, they don't."
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Ondrej ZhasilCycling Journalist
Ondřej Zhasil is a cycling journalist at CyclingUpToDate and has been part of the team since 2023. He is based in Ostrava, the third-largest city in the Czech Republic, and covers professional cycling across the main UCI competitions, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España. A key focus of his work is startlist analysis and pre-race coverage, where he examines team selections, rider line-ups, and tactical scenarios ahead of major events.
Alongside WorldTour coverage, Ondřej has developed specific expertise in junior cycling and in racing across East Asia, including competitions in China and Japan. He also maintains a broad working knowledge of other disciplines and levels, including cyclocross, while continuing to expand his understanding of mountain bike racing.
Ondřej holds a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Physics, which supports his analytical, data-driven approach to performance and race analysis. In his reporting, he regularly uses ProCyclingStats for results, statistics, and historical context. He places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles promptly when new, verified information becomes available.
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