Hungarian rider Bálint Makrai faces provisional doping suspension following positive test for Dianabol
CyclingFriday, 17 April 2026 at 11:45
With the Tour de Hongrie starting within the next month, it would be logical for Hungarian cycling to be ramping up towards its biggest moment of the year. However, that is not quite the case, and this week one of its riders has been suspended due to a positive result for an anabolic steroid - a case of doping.
Recent doping controversies in the sport include BTC Cty Ljubljana Zhiraf Ambedo rider Linda Laporti who returned a positive test at the women's UAE Tour; two teams that have been suspended due to having several cases within specific periods of time; whilst Marc Soler's father Jaume was sanctioned over having a direct working link with a banned US Postal doctor, with strong links also existing to the UAE Team Emirates - XRG rider. Just this week, former pro Danilo Napolitano is also facing consequences due to the possession and attempt to administer banned substances to a minor.
The International Testing Agency has now revealed the positive doping test for Dianabol after an out of competition test carried out on the 30th of March, something which is difficult to argue about a grey area, taking into consideration the steroid is banned under any circumstance for professional cyclists - it is used to increase testosterone levels, which would then enhance physical strength and ability.
This applies to Hungarian rider Bálint Makrai, a 19-year old rider who is part of the Italian Pro Team MBH Bank CSB Telecom Fort. Hence, it is a case of a significant level, taking place in the second division of the sport. Whilst far from the top, Makrai has finished in the Top5 of the Hungarian national championships last year and had been hinted at as a strong developing potential. A provisional suspension has been handed, which can be contested and/or explained.
As a result of this suspension, the Italian team has been expelled from the upcoming Tour de Hongrie, as confirmed by the race organizers this Friday morning. “The integrity of the sport and fair play are more important than anything else,” race director Károly Eisenkrammer said in a press release.
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- Send him to the Tour! Nobody's expecting a 19 year old to beat Pogi on debut. If he goes it'll likely be the least pressure he's under in July his entire career. Great learning experience! Then Giro-Vuelta double next year winning one or both, followed by TdF 2028 SmackDown: Pogi vs Seixas both in their prime!Sexass17-04-2026
- Spot on Vuelta is good 3 week race with less pressurepaultryan200217-04-2026
- I went back and watched the whole chase. There are plenty of heli shots. You never see a wall of motos. Occasionally, one camera moto gets too close. But the leading group has one too. I think he was hallucinating.spdlmtdrvr17-04-2026
- indeed, infinite complexities. so the best way to tell who the strongest was is to look at the podium and just roll with that.OCexile17-04-2026
- Clearly not everyone understands. Not only is bad luck part of it, there is a difference between leading and chasing. Different groups/pairings, different tactics. It seems worth noting, for example, that when MVDP had closed to within 20 seconds at the 54km mark, Wout launched and Pog followed. They quickly built the lead back out to 40 seconds, which means they had not been fully on their limit. They were sensibly holding back just bit, no doubt due to the big gap to MVDP. But when he got close they were able to move on, at which point they had to play a complicated game with each other: attacking at times, cooperating at other times, testing each other while trying to protect their lead and still save something for the end. They slowed strategically as they got near the finale, then more yet once they got on the track. The chase group, which was still racing full gas, closed down some of the remaining gap at that point. The claim that MVDP was stronger because his elapsed time was lower misses all of that, and the claim that he would have dropped the other two is absurd.MidnightRider17-04-2026
- Monuments are more prestigious and are difficult but there's no question that surviving a brutal week-long stage race is harder. And even if Monuments should be awarded more points, twice Catalunya is sh*te
Rafionain-Glas17-04-2026 - That battle between Nordhagen and Omrzel for the final stage the baby Giro was fabulous. Also because Luke Tuckwell got the pointy end of the stickRafionain-Glas17-04-2026
- Froome style.Pogboom16-04-2026
- I think you're overdoing it. He's beaten plenty of top riders (Lipowitz, Ayuso, del Toro, Almeida etc.) but he lacks Grand Tour experience. Just because he's done well in weeklongs doesn't mean he'll do well over 3 weeks. He might crack and hit a ceiling like Remco. Better to see at the VueltaRafionain-Glas16-04-2026
- The Volta Catalunya GC is 400 Points and Paris-Nice GC is 500 points. The stage race wins are 50 or 60 points. The monument races are 800 points. Clearly the monument races have more points than 1-week tours. I think it's much harder to win one day races and the point system is right the way it is.PogiFan2Day16-04-2026
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