Poland's Kacper Szczepaniak has reportedly attempted to commit suicide, after he was last week provisionally suspended by the International Cycling Union (UCI) for a failed doping test.
Kacper's elder brother Pawel confirmed to Het Laatste Nieuws that his sibling had attempted to end his own life, but had been stopped by their father.
Kacper, 19, finished second to Pawel, 21, in the under 23 World cyclo-cross Championship race on January 30, however, both tested positive for EPO in a doping control conducted at the event and are likely to be stripped of their medals.
Het Laatste Nieuws also reported that Hans Van Kasteren, the manager of Kacper's professional team Telenet-Fidea, believes a Polish coach had encouraged the two to dope.
"I've plenty of information to figure out who the man is," said Van Kasteren. "We never approve [of doping], but it doesn't take much to understand why those guys could not resist the temptation. In Poland, their father has a monthly salary of just 250 euros, while Kacper with a [top] team could earn 2500 euros [a month]."
The Szczepaniaks will remain provisionally suspended pending disciplinary action by the Polish Cycling Federation. Results of their B samples are also pending.
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