"I felt like I had lost it all" - Robert Stannard about the misery and bouncing back from four-year suspension for supposed doping

2024 was a tough year for Robert Stannard, who was issued back-dated ban for 2018-2022 period after irregularities in his biological pass were found. While the UCI Anti-doping tribunal found Stannard guilty, what they haven't found was any evidence of Stannard's actual misconduct, which makes it a bitter pill to swallow for the Australian. Luckily, he was given another opportunity by Bahrain-Victorious at the end of 2024.

Rouleur interviewed Stannard ahead of the season to speak, above all, about his thoughts of this ban and how he overcame the period of insecurity of his own professional future. "I’d love to," the Australian says, before "It’s not something I can control. I was sort of lost; I felt like I had lost it all," he admits.

Stannard’s father, Steve, is a professor in exercise physiology, and he worked on his son’s defence. "I don’t even want to think about the money we’ve spent on it all," Stannard says. Nevertheless, it wasn’t enough: the UCI declared him guilty of breaching anti-doping measures. He has given up the fight – for now. "Even from the beginning, the first thing I realised is that it’s most important that the people closest to me supported me, and that I myself know what I did," he says. "God knows what I did, and that’s all that matters."

Besides the damage to his sporting career, this is also a massive blow to Stannard's reputation and many doors will be closed for him from that moment onward: "I can never change that," he says. "People think what they want to think. Obviously it’s important in society and in life that there’s a good image of yourself but it’s something that’s out of my control and I’m not going to waste my energy or my time or stress about it."

On the other hand, Stannard was given a lot of time to return to the roots and get in some extra training sessions over the past year in hope of returning. In that way, his year in exile might turn out to benefit him now that he's back in the action. "In terms of performance, I was thinking maybe to have this year a bit more chilled, without the intensity of racing, might be a good thing for me," he says. "Maybe I can come back and be even stronger."

In any case, there's not much more Stannard can do about that now... and he knows it. Instead he tries to get on top of the whole situation and continue with clear mind: "I have a different perspective now on everything, it allows me to come with a different mindset, a different mentality," he says. "I think I’m more relaxed, more calm."