Shari Bossuyt ends battle against controversial positive doping result - "I simply don't have the strength or money for this"

Shari Bossuyt tested positive for Letrozole in March of 2023. The World Champion on the track and current rider of Cayon//SRAM Racing has spent the last 11 months trying to prove her innocence, but it simply was not possible as there isn't an easy way to prove her contamination through food.

This is one of the most unique cases of reported doping in cycling, as both her and cyclocross rider Toon Aerts tested positive for the substance immediately after in the town of Flamanville, France - although racing in different disciplines of the sport. In the space of one month, both tested positive for the substance Letrozole, which is said to inhibit the production of Estrogen - and hence, in men, raise production of testosterone.

Both have received 2-year bans after lengthy battles. Bossuyt's ended yesterday as she announced on social media: “On December 4, I received the decision from the AFLD (the anti-doping agency, ed.) with a proposal for my suspension. As expected, they have proposed a two-year ban. They confirm and acknowledge the fact that the contamination was not intentional. But we cannot, as with Toon Aerts, prove the source of the contamination. For that reason, they cannot limit the punishment further."

It was acknowledged however that Bossuyt, a renowned sprinter in the peloton but also former Madison World Champion together with Lotte Kopecky on the Track, did not intentionally get the substance in her body. However the situation has a dark twist. It is very likely that both riders had contaminate milk in the area of Flamanville, but it is not possible in Europe to conduct a test because on paper the substance is banned from being fed into livestock. The financial burden of having to officially prove the situation, alongside the psychological pressure of the past year, has led her to end this journey of attempting to clean her name officially.

Hence the ban will remain until March of 2025, meaning another year off competition for the 23-year old. “I don't have the strength or the money for this," she tells. "The feeling of fighting a losing battle, the sleepless nights of constantly worrying and the financial suffering of having to spend tens of thousands of euros on an already lost cause, made me decide to leave it at that..."

However, she concludes with a clear message: “I am a 23-year-old girl who was able to turn her hobby into her profession. I am not a doping sinner and have never considered taking any. I will keep repeating this until the day comes when everything is cleared up.”

“No one seems to realize how much impact this has on someone's mental health. My Olympic dream has been destroyed and I have to walk around every day with the label of 'doping sinner'. It's almost unbearable. Fortunately, I find support from the people who really listen to me, who believe me. In the meantime, I will continue to exercise, because it does me good. I will prove that I will come back stronger!”