Two year suspension for Toon Aerts following doping case, calls it "far too severe a punishment"
Cyclocross
Toon Aerts has officially been suspended for two years following the use of Letrozole. The UCI took 11 months to confirm the decision for the case, Aerts has had a press conference this morning in Merksplas announcing the decision.
Letrozole is a substance used to prevent the growth of estrogen in the body, which can be used as a testosterone booster. Aerts tested positive in an out-of-competition test on the 19th of January this year, and although he has not been suspended, he has not raced again.
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"We have to send out a message that we really don't want at all the former Belgian champion said in the press conference. “As hard as we worked and looked forward to good news, we got a letter that no one wanted. A two-year suspension from the UCI. As a result, I will certainly not be racing this season. I can take part in official competitions again on February 16, 2024 at the earliest."
Right before the cyclocross season began, Aerts was sacked from his Baloise - Trek Lions team. His fan group has been quite vocal and present in races with the demand of the case being solved fast, and so as the Belgian on occasion, who even let his hair grow as he wanted to leave no stone untouched in his path to try and prove his innocence.
“It's a rather severe punishment, far too severe a punishment. I can state in good conscience that I am pure, but the rules think otherwise after a product was in my body that I have never heard of. As you can see, I never cut my hair until today. There's proof in here that I didn't take this voluntarily," Aerts said.
“The UCI decided that I should be suspended for 24 months, which is incomprehensible to me. It was hell telling this to my parents, girlfriend, brother and everyone, but people kept believing in me. I get an incredible amount of support from this and I want to thank them all."
Rúben SilvaEditor-in-Chief
A founding contributor to CyclingUpToDate since its launch in January 2022, Ruben Silva has played a central role in shaping the site’s editorial direction and long-term growth. Before joining the project, he built his experience through independent blogging at Echelons Hub and by producing race previews for Ciclismo Internacional, developing a strong analytical voice rooted in daily engagement with professional cycling.
Beyond editorial work, he has been closely involved in the expansion and coordination of CyclingUpToDate’s wider network, helping establish and support sister platforms across multiple languages. This includes ongoing collaboration with CiclismoAlDia (Spanish), CiclismoAtual (Portuguese), WielrennenUpToDate (Dutch), and RadsportAktuell (German), contributing to a shared editorial vision and consistent international coverage.
He also helps oversee editorial governance across the network, setting standards for accuracy and consistency and coordinating updates or corrections when needed.
Originally from the Porto metropolitan area in Portugal, he holds a bachelor’s degree in Geography. His path into cycling journalism was shaped not through formal media training, but through independent reporting, community engagement, and sustained on-the-ground involvement in the sport.
Over the course of his career, he has conducted approximately 100 interviews across road cycling and cyclocross, ranging from one-to-one conversations and online formats to press conferences and on-site pre- and post-race coverage. His interviews include leading riders, team managers, and prominent figures within cycling media: Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Mathieu van der Poel, Primoz Roglic, Wout van Aert, Joao Almeida and Tom Pidcock; managers like Patrick Lefevere and Joxean Matxin; and YouTube personality Bryan Kennedy (BKXC)...
Within 18 months of launch, he helped grow CyclingUpToDate’s English-language platform into one of the most-read cycling news websites, built entirely from the ground up. As both a professional journalist and lifelong cycling enthusiast, his focus remains on delivering accurate, timely, and well-contextualized coverage.
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leedorney08-11-2026 - To Twoje przemyślenia te bla, bla :)
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parisbound0008-11-2026 - there needs to be space in life for pointless comments!Ketterechts08-11-2026
- That is a very lazy way of putting it but so far on this website it seems like everyone is happy to look at everything lazily, even things that annoy them intensely. All they want to do is state their feeling and position but ask most to analyse a problem or come up with solutions or improvements and you’re stunned by silence. Nobody even really knows how this all happens. It’s very simple and quick to just say the UCI did it but I bet you they didn’t, I bet you not more than 2 people were involved, more likely just 1. The UCI may be ultimately responsible but it is not their decision, this is about hierarchy, power and delegation. The fact that protest is possible also means it isn’t over and that MORE people could get involved for a thorough review which could throw up anything. It is highly likely it was a sole commissar who decided and has that power in a first round. Therein might lie the problem the UCI has to consider, is it acceptable to give so much authority to one single person when it is quite possible for them to have a natural bias or be too easily susceptible to imposed bias. Who is to say an individual in this position isn’t susceptible to collaboration with outside players with interests in the results, nations, families, teams, betting companies, etc. On the one hand we have sports where these problems have been worked on way more to reduce such problems, on the other hand we have sports with far stricter and more draconian rules not even concerning safety or obstruction that nobody really questions like false starts or stepping out of lane or zones in athletics. If cycling hastowork on itself, it would be good if protagonists (all kinds) would start doing a little more than just moaning over outcomes.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
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