"It's very easy to dope" - Suspended prison sentence awaits doping female ex-cyclist from France

Six years after testing positive for EPO, former French cyclist Marion Sicot has been given a 10-month suspended prison sentence in court for the import and possession of doping products. The 32-year-old, who competed most notably for Doltcini - Van Eyck Sport before her ban, admitted to repeateed use of doping in the 2016-2019 period for which she was previously banned from competition by French authorities.

"I wasn't doing well, I lacked a lot of self-confidence…To perform at the level I wanted to, I took the easy way out," admitted Sicot of why she doped at the start of the trial in November. "It's very easy to dope, either you know someone, or you go on the Internet."

A friend of Sicot's similarly received a 10-month suspended sentence at the trial for importing, administering and possessing doping products. A former semi-pro cyclist, he was also fined €10,000. The third person convicted in the court south of Paris was a 51-year-old doctor suspected of writing prescriptions illegally. He was fined a significantly larger €20,000, alongside receiving a 10-month suspended sentence and a six-month ban from practising medicine.

Sicot was not given her suspended sentence for the use of doping substances as it is not a punishable criminal offence by law, as it is in Germany, but for "trafficking in and possession of such substances."