USADA ban 80-year-old racer for doping

The US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) announced on Friday it has handed a one-year ban to 80-year-old track cyclist Barbara Gicquel after a positive test for methyltestosterone.

USADA said Gicquel requested the doping control to validate an age group world record set on August 29, 2019 - the mark for the 500m time trial in the women 75-79 age group which Gicquel provisionally set at 44.062.

That result along with all of her results since August 29, 2015, have been nullified because Gicquel admitted using a medication containing methyltestosterone since March, 2005. She applied for a retroactive Therapeutic Use Exemption (TUE) but USADA rejected her application.

USADA said Gicquel did not declare the medication on any of her previous doping control forms and they denied her TUE, "because the documentation she submitted did not establish that she had a medical condition that required the use of methyltestosterone and indicated that her use of the medication was likely to provide an additional athletic performance benefit beyond a return to a normal state of health," according to a press release.

Gicquel's urine taken at the 2019 USA Cycling Masters Track National Championships showed metabolites of methyltestosterone, which is a Non-Specified Substance in the class of Anabolic Agents and is prohibited at all times under a wide range of anti-doping rules including USA Cycling and the UCI.

The Californian has lost titles in the individual pursuit, sprint, and time trial, including age group records in the 200m flying start time trial and 2km individual pursuit.

She tried to contest the disqualification of her results and an independent arbitrator concluded that her results should be disqualified starting on the first date she learned her medication contained a banned substance.