Mystery solved: Ukrainian rider secretly served one-year doping ban before returning to racing
Cycling
Kyrylo Tsarenko was one of Team Solution Tech - NIPPO - Rali's star riders of the 2025 season, having won the Tour of Hainan, Tour de Kyushu and a stage at the Tour of Slovenia. But since the start of this season, the 25-year-old Ukrainian wasn't part of the Italian team's roster. Or of any other UCI team. But in July, Tsarenko returned as if nothing had happened. The reason for his absence? A doping ban.
Tsarenko was handed a one-year suspension for whereabout failure (failing to submit his whereabouts correctly three times within a twelve-month period). The ban took effect retroactively on December 3, 2025 and run through June 30, 2026.
As a result, all Tsarenko's results since July 1, 2025 have been scrapped. This includes an overall victory at Tour de Kyushu, a stage win, and a couple top-5 and top-10 results in one-day races. The Ukrainian has not appealed the decision.
Return in style
Tsarenko resumed his career back at Team Solution Tech - NIPPO - Rali from this July, as early as at the Sibiu Tour (July 4-7). That the Ukrainian rider spent his forced pause from racing with rigorous training is clear as he immediately claimed a 6th spot overall.
One month later, Tsarenko continued to perform at a high level when he won a stage and overall at the Tour of Kahramanmaras (2.2) and Ordu Coast to Summit (1.2) in Turkiye. Tsarenko also grabbed two further top-5 results at 1.2 races in August.
Since September, his results have no longer been as stellar, partly due to a different level of competition at the Italian autumn calendar. At the moment, Tsarenko is expected to conclude his return season at the Japan Cup (1.Pro) on October 18, one week after his 26th birthday.
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With 183 UCI points to his name since just July, Tsarenko is one of the key riders for the Italian ProTeam's quest to reach top-30 in the UCI Team Rankings. Therefore, he should normally be able to secure a contract also for the coming seasons at the team he joined towards the end of 2023 season.
Ondrej ZhasilCycling Journalist
Ondřej Zhasil is a cycling journalist at CyclingUpToDate and has been part of the team since 2023. He is based in Ostrava, the third-largest city in the Czech Republic, and covers professional cycling across the main UCI competitions, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España. A key focus of his work is startlist analysis and pre-race coverage, where he examines team selections, rider line-ups, and tactical scenarios ahead of major events.
Alongside WorldTour coverage, Ondřej has developed specific expertise in junior cycling and in racing across East Asia, including competitions in China and Japan. He also maintains a broad working knowledge of other disciplines and levels, including cyclocross, while continuing to expand his understanding of mountain bike racing.
Ondřej holds a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Physics, which supports his analytical, data-driven approach to performance and race analysis. In his reporting, he regularly uses ProCyclingStats for results, statistics, and historical context. He places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles promptly when new, verified information becomes available.
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- exactly! He does nothing the rest of the year!frieders309-10-2026
- what I don't understand is how do we know the photo --Line of pixel capture, is actually lined up with the finish line on the road? in this case even a couple inches either way could have made for the difference.jad2909-10-2026
- Yes, question is, why is Ineos so easy to convince ?Mistermaumau09-10-2026
- Or maybe they’ll just abandon the sport and focus on RE, unless they can revive MU. Maybe it’s all just about budget adjustments in preparation for takeover by the new sponsor who might have no use for some people in their idea of a projectMistermaumau09-10-2026
- Sounds like management did their job pretty well then ;-)Mistermaumau09-10-2026
- Tour down under awaits... and nothing beyond that
Rafionain-Glas09-10-2026 - God, what a crowd gathers in these comments. You post a quote from a true champion—a quote that has nothing to do with his tragic accident (on the contrary, with his very passion)—and people interpret it however suits them.MajorPayne09-10-2026
- What needs to be understood? That you're linking a single statement to his death? Could it get any more stupid?MajorPayne09-10-2026
- Are you saying that statement led him somewhere related to religion? Could it get any more stupid?MajorPayne09-10-2026
- A broken contract by mutual agreement is perfectly fine. The problem is if one side does it without the other agreeing which isn't the case in this situationvappaxbipmv09-10-2026
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