EPO in the 2024 World Championships - Polish time-trial specialist suspended after testing positive for banned doping substance

Only two months ago, the cycling world learnt about the positive EPO doping case of Jesse Ewart who competed and frequently won in the Asian calendar. This Wednesday the European peloton has been struck by bad news: Polish rider Kacper Gieryk has tested positive for the banned substance. 

The UCI has suspended Gieryk after testing positive for EPO, a substance that is used to increase the body's ability to carry oxygen - hence improving physiological values, crucial in cycling. It was used throughout many years by none other than Lance Armstrong who won the Tour de France for seven times, and launched EPO into the absolute spotlight of the sports world. Other riders have tested positive for it over the years including Olympic Champion Alexandre Vinokourov; Marco Pantani; Jan Ullrich; Laurent Jalabert; Erik Zabel and Italian sprinter Mario Cipollini.

Gieryk has the right to request testing of his B sample and so he a suspension is not yet fully enforced. The positive sample was taken during the World Championships, on the 24th of September - the day after he raced in the under-23 time-trial event where he finished in 40th place.

However this is not an inconsequential case, as the 21-year old already carries meaningful results in his palmarès. He is a three-time winner of the under-23 ITT Championships in Poland and last year he won the under-23 Chrono des Nations at the end of the season. Currently, he has a contract with the Continental Lubelskje Perla Polski team until the 2025 season but it is not known whether this will be terminated following the news that broke out.