Cyclist Shari Bossuyt given two-year suspension after positive doping test

Belgian cyclist Shari Bossuyt has been suspended for two years following a positive doping test. The 23-year-old confirmed the news via social media on Thursday evening.

It was revealed in June that Bossuyt had tested positive last year, after she won the third stage of the Tour de Normandie in March. Traces of letrozole metabolite were found in her urine. The same substance was also found in a sample from compatriot Toon Aerts.

Bossuyt says she could, in theory, appeal against the sanction, but doesn't have "the strength or the money". "The feeling of having to fight a losing battle, the nights of sleeplessness due to continuous worrying and hurting me financially by having to spend another tens of thousands of euros on an already lost case, make me decide to leave it at that," she wrote on X, formerly Twitter.

"The feeling of having to fight a losing battle, the nights of sleeplessness (...) make me decide to leave it at that"

"No one seems to realize what an impact this has on someone's mental health," she said. "My Olympic dream destroyed and having to walk around every day with the 'stamp' of a doper. It's almost unbearable."

Bossuyt won gold in the madison with fellow Belgian Lotte Kopecky at the UCI Track Cycling World Championships 18 months ago. Together, they expressed their desire to take a shot at gold at the Paris Olympics in 2024. Bossuyt, who says she is determined to "come back stronger", has always maintained her innocence.

^{#FlandersNewsService | Belgian cyclist Shari Bossuyt © BELGA PHOTO JAMES ARTHUR GEKIERE}