Former Team Sky rider banned for doping two years after he retired

A former Team Sky rider has been banned for doping, despite having retired two years ago.

The UCI announced on Tuesday afternoon (June 23) that Kanstantsin Siutsou has been banned for four years after testing positive for EPO in 2018.

Siutsou, who rode for Team Sky for four seasons between 2012 and 2016, retired shortly after the positive test was made public.

The Belarusian returned an adverse analytical finding for the blood booster in an out-of-competition test in July 2018, while riding for Bahrain-Merida.

He was initially handed a provisional suspension until the UCI made a formal decision on his punishment.

Now two years after he retired, the governing body has announced the 37-year-old has been banned from the sport.

A statement from the UCI said: “The UCI Anti-Doping Tribunal (the Tribunal) has rendered its decision in the case involving Mr. Kanstantsin Siutsou.

“The tribunal found the rider guilty of an anti-doping rule violation (presence of Erythropoietin) and imposed a four-year period of ineligibility on the rider.”

Siutsou started his career with Itera in 2001 and went on to race for HTC-High Road, Team Sky and Dimension Data before closing out his 17-year career with Bahrain-Merida.

He was also part of the winning Team Sky Tour de France squad in 2012, won by Sir Bradley Wiggins, before Siutsou pulled out on stage three.

During his career, Siutsou won the under-23 World Championship road race in 2004, a stage of the Giro d’Italia in 2009 and took the overall at the Tour of Georgia and the Tour of Croatia.

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He was also formidable in the Belarusian championships, winning six time trial titles and two national road race jerseys.