"We can say with 100 percent certainty that the product ended up in Toon's body through contamination" - Toon Aerts' entourage to pursue legal action following suspension

Toon Aerts has officially been suspended by the UCI, however the Belgian's legal team will contest the decision, claiming that there is no doubt that the two-year ban from racing was the wrong call.

Yannick Prévost, manager of Toon Aerts, told Sporza: “We can expect a verdict in 2 to 3 months. If the verdict is negative, we can still go to the International Sports Tribunal TAS. In the best case scenario we get a reduced sentence, in the worst case Toon can only compete again on February 16 [2024]."

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Two year suspension for Toon Aerts following doping case, calls it "far too severe a punishment"

Aerts has tested positive for the substance Letrozole in an out-of-competition test on the 19th of January. In a press conference hosted this morning in Belgium, Aerts made the announcement, but continued his stance of being clean. Alongside, all the tests in 2022 were revealed and came back negative.

Aerts has also not cut his hair so as to keep possible evidence that can support him there. “Hair samples often lead to a breakthrough in murder cases. Now we will use it in a doping case, because the evidence is in my hair," Aerts said during the press conference.

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“We can say with 100 percent certainty that the product ended up in Toon's body through contamination," Prévost said to the media following the conference. Aerts has been suspended until early 2024, effectively missing out on two full cyclocross seasons.

"We suspect the source of contamination, but that has not yet been confirmed. We will continue to analyze supplements and anything that Toon may have taken during that period. Hopefully we will find a track on which we can continue working," his manager concluded.

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