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Italian cyclist aged 14 reportedly fails anti-doping control after regional race

Youngster believed to be youngest rider ever to fail test after anabolic agent found in sample

A 14-year-old cyclist in Italy is believed to be the youngest rider ever to have failed an anti-doping control, according to a report by the news agency, ANSA published by the Corriere dello Sport.

The teenager is said to have tested positive for the powerful anabolic agent Mesterolone following a regional race.

The unnamed youngster has been immediately suspended by the antidoping tribunal of the Italian national Olympic committee, CONI.

There have long been suspicions of some young riders in Italy and elsewhere using banned drugs to improve their performances as they try and build a career in cycling, often pushed to do so – and even given prohibited substances without their knowledge – by adults around them such as parents or coaches.

Riccardo Ricco, now serving a 12-year-ban, has been the subject of longstanding rumours that he was already doping in his teens, and in 2013 the magistrate Benedetto Roberti, who was leading an anti-doping investigation at the time, called for more protection to be given to junior riders.

> Doping: Padua magistrate says nothing has changed in cycling

Occasionally, evidence emerges that highlights the use of drugs at junior level.

In 2009, the Canadian cyclist Geneviève Jeanson admitted in a documentary on Radio-Canada that she had been taking EPO since she was aged 16.

Her victories during the time she was using the banned blood booster included the world junior road and time trial championships in 1999 and the 2000 Fleche Wallonne. 

She was banned for two years in 2006 after testing positive for EPO and never raced again. Meanwhile, her doctor and coach both received lifetime bans in 2009.

In December 2015, 18-year-old British rider Gabriel Evans, a former Junior National 10-mile TT champion, admitted using EPO after the father of a team mate found a vial of the substance in his room during a training camp in France and alerted UK Anti-Doping.

> British Junior National 10-mile TT champion admits EPO use

Last November former Dutch pro Teo Muis was banned from involvement with cycling for life, reportedly because he had injected his teenage son, whom he coached, Nandrolone but told him it was a multi-vitamin injection.

> Life ban for Dutch ex-pro who injected 17-year-old son with banned drug

Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.

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6 comments

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Bmblbzzz | 6 years ago
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I remember something about a whole South African school rugby team being disqualified for steroid abuse, so it's almost certainly in use among teenagers in various sports.

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Yorkshire wallet | 6 years ago
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From what I've read, there are claims that steroid use - even for one cycle - will give you a lasting muscle memory advantage over a non-user. 

Start them young, avoid the testing. 

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Grahamd | 6 years ago
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This is child abuse, pure and simple. The coache(s) and / or parents should be prosecuted.

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Chris Hayes | 6 years ago
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.....either that or being driven round the course by your parents if Rod Ellingworth's account in the highly readable Project Rainbow is anything to go by.... seems some Italian pros are still addicted to this!

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Jackson | 6 years ago
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God that must be terrible for you long-term at that age.

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Bigtwin | 6 years ago
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Counter-productive. One if its side-effects is enduring wood, which aside from requiring the give-away use of an ISM saddle, will negate the effects to today's aero bikes.

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