French Para-Cyclist Suspended in EPO Doping Case at Worlds

French para-cyclist Thomas Peyroton-Dartet has been provisionally suspended after testing positive for EPO at September’s world championships in Huntsville, Alabama, the International Testing Agency announced Thursday.

Peyroton-Dartet — a C3 category athlete — is provisionally suspended while the case proceeds. No final sanction has been announced.

The finding came from a sample collected September 5 during the UCI Para-cycling Road World Championships. The ITA, which runs the UCI’s independent anti-doping program, is handling the case.

Just two days later, he won gold in the C3 road race ahead of a pair of chasing Spanish riders.

Peyroton-Dartet, 41, also won gold in the C3 time trial and silver in the C1-3 road race in the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

EPO needs little introduction for cycling fans.

It stimulates red blood cell production, increasing the oxygen available to working muscles and boosting endurance. This is not the first time that EPO has been detected in para-cycling.

Poland’s Marcin Polak received a four-year ban in 2022 after three samples collected in 2021 tested positive. His results during the affected period were wiped out.