Italian BMX champion will serve an 18-month suspension for doping

Bad news in professional cycling. The shadow of doping is once again hanging over the sport, in particular over the BMX discipline. This summer, UCI has already informed the Italian BMX champion Martti Sciortino of an adverse finding and have thus provisionally suspended the rider. Now, the UCI has made official a sanction of 18 months to the Italian.

In the official statement of the sanction, cycling's governing body explains that Sciortino was found to have traces of chlorodehydromethyltestosterone and stanozolol, two substances banned under the anti-doping regulations, in a sample taken on May 24, 2025 at the BMX Swiss Challenge Cup. The sanction is therefore set until December 2026.

Below, you can read the full UCI press release:

"The International Cycling Union (UCI) announces that Italian cyclist Martti Sciortino has been sanctioned with an 18-month suspension following an anti-doping rule violation for the presence of the metabolite of dehydrochlormethyltestosterone (DHCMT) as well as metabolites of stanozolol (stanozolol)* in a sample collected during the BMX Swiss Challenge Cup on May 24, 2025."

"In accordance with the World Anti-Doping Code (Code) and the UCI Anti-Doping Regulations (UCI ADR), the suspension period began on June 20, 2025 and will be in effect until December 19, 2026."

"The case has been resolved by acceptance of the consequences provided for in the Code and the UCI ADR. The resolution is subject to appeal by the Italian National Anti-Doping Organization and the World Anti-Doping Agency."

"The UCI will not comment further."

"The UCI delegated its anti-doping program to the International Testing Agency (ITA) in January 2021, retaining results management and the prosecution of anti-doping rule violations. Since then, clean cycling initiatives have been led by the ITA Cycling Unit, specifically dedicated to all cycling disciplines. The UCI and the ITA are linked by a service agreement that guarantees the ITA's independence."