French rider Gauthier Navarro looking to take anti-doping agency to court after EPO false positive

It is not often that a doping suspension is reversed within the sport of cycling, but one such case has recently happened. French rider Gauthier Navarro has been cleared following over a year suspended, and is looking to receive a severance following the damage.

The story was reported by French news outlet L'Équipe who state that Navarro and his lawyer are looking to take the French Anti-Doping Agency (AFLD) to court. This is because Navarro was suspended in 2021 for a positive EPO test following the under-23 Ronde de l'Isard race, and after 15 months of suspension the case was finished without an apology or justification.

Navarro, now 24, was a strong member of the developing French scene and finished in the Top10 of the mountainous race. After being suspended, he carried out other tests which revealed atypical results. In June of 2023 he was cleared of the suspension that he had been given. He has since returned to amateur racing, with the Béziers Méditerranée Cyclisme team and has won the Bordeaux-Saintes race.

However his chances of becoming a pro rider were virtually severed by the inaccurate doping scandal. The rider's lawyer, Maître Chiron, has told L'Équipe that "After fifteen months of suspension, we are told that the procedure is over. There are no excuses, nothing. The AFLD does not realize the harm it can do to people.”