Olympic silver medallist Daria Pikulik has broken her silence after accepting an 18-month anti-doping suspension, apologising for three whereabouts failures and insisting she never intended to violate the rules.
The 29-year-old Polish cyclist, who won silver in the omnium at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, was sanctioned by the International Testing Agency (ITA) after recording three whereabouts failures within a 12-month period. Pikulik did not contest the violation and accepted the proposed punishment.
The suspension was applied retrospectively, running from 9 December 2024 until 8 June 2026, meaning the punishment had already expired by the time it was publicly announced. All results obtained during that period have been disqualified, including the forfeiture of medals, ranking points and prize money, although her Olympic silver remains unaffected.
Having not raced since Omloop Nieuwsblad in February, the former Human Powered Health rider has now addressed the circumstances surrounding her suspension in a statement on Instagram.
Pikulik was a silver medallist at the 2024 Olympics
"It was never my intention to violate anti-doping rules"
"Many questions remain, and I must face them head-on," Pikulik began. "I'd like to explain why you haven't seen me racing since March. I was suspended for failing to report for three doping tests."
According to the Polish rider, the first two failures occurred in September and October 2023, before her Olympic silver medal-winning performance in Paris the following summer.
"Realising the seriousness of the situation, I tried to systematically complete my residence data in the system," she explained, before admitting that "due to my oversight and a much greater workload, it happened a third time in September 2024."
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Pikulik subsequently spent almost two years attempting to defend her reputation. She said the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) found her responsible for missing a doping control in March 2026 without imposing a penalty at that stage, before the retrospective suspension was finalised in September.
"It was a terribly difficult time for me and my loved ones. It was never my intention to violate anti-doping rules," she said."Throughout my career, I have passed dozens of doping controls without any problems. However, I need to accept what happened and put it behind me," Pikulik continued. "I apologise to everyone I've let down and thank everyone who has been with me through this time."
Although her period of ineligibility expired more than four months ago, Pikulik has yet to return to competition. Her departure from Human Powered Health has left her without a confirmed professional team, with her future in the sport still uncertain.
Kieran WoodDeputy Editor-in-Chief
Kieran Wood is a sports journalist based in Wales and has been active in journalism since 2022. He regularly contributes to DartsNews.com and CyclingUpToDate.com, where he covers professional cycling and darts. In cycling, his work includes liveblogs from major races, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España, alongside race reports and analysis. He has also conducted interviews with professional riders.
His reporting spans the full racing calendar, from one-day classics to stage races, with a focus on accurate, real-time coverage and clear contextual analysis. For statistics, results, and historical context, he regularly uses resources such as ProCyclingStats. To support reporting on rider activity and training context where relevant, he also references Strava.
In his work, Kieran places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles as new, verified information becomes available.
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