Lizzy Banks has made an emotional call for change in the way contamination cases are managed and judged by anti-doping authorities after losing a two-year battle to clear her name.
The 34-year-old former British rider, who raced for EF Education and won two stages of the Giro d'Italia Women, tested positive for traces of the diuretic Chlortalidone in July 2023. She was cleared by the UK Anti-Doping Agency (UKAD) after it was accepted that the substance entered her system through contamination, but the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) appealed her case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) and eventually won.
Banks had to fight for a back-dated two-year suspension, which ended on 22 June 2025.
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She has spent the last few weeks writing a 13,000-word update on her situation, which was published on Tuesday. Banks first revealed details of her then-on-going case in May 2024 and said the ordeal had left her with suicidal thoughts. Now she feels "empty", but called for change in the way contamination cases are judged.
"I desperately want and need to move on from this now, to put this torrid chapter to bed, forever. To try to rebuild my health and career, to be able to work again and to rediscover the person I used to be before this process sucked the life and happiness from me," Banks wrote after revealing every detail of her case and the way WADA delayed the whole process.
"I’m not sure yet whether I regret having carried on the fight. I am so empty right now that I barely know what I feel anymore. But this is what they do to people like me. They crush us. They expect that we will just walk away and they will never have any consequences. But there must be consequences."
Banks suggested UKAD, British Cycling and the French, German and US anti-doping agencies agree with her and called out for influential bodies and authorities to help make the change happen.
"I implore these bodies to stand with me that rules surrounding contamination must change. The rules and the system are simply not good enough and as it stands are not fit for purpose. Unless we fight for it, nothing will ever change. I have done my bit and now it is your turn."
Banks was able to convince UKAD that her positive test was likely caused by a contaminated tablet she took for asthma. She underwent a hair test that showed no trace of chlortalidone before and after her positive sample. However, WADA appealed the UKAD verdict, despite growing concerns about contamination cases.
The CAS panel eventually ruled that Banks had ultimately failed to prove the source of the contamination and so banned her for two years.
“In no way did WADA make light of Ms. Banks’ case," a WADA spokesperson told Cycling Weekly when asked for a reaction.
"WADA diligently prosecuted the appeal based on the facts and in compliance with the rules, with the assistance of external counsel, and was ultimately successful before the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).
“WADA appealed this case to CAS because it felt that the terms of the World Anti-Doping Code had not been implemented appropriately at first instance.”
"Speaking generally, the principle of strict liability is crucially important to uphold fairness in sport. Without it the anti-doping system would be inoperative. As the CAS panel observed in its final decision, there is a duty to apply the rules, which were enacted to safeguard the important principle of ensuring a level playing field and fairness to all athletes.”
Banks' 13,000-word post can be read in full on her website.
