Nine months after he was provisionally suspended from racing, Colombian racer Germán Gómez Becerra has been cleared of a possible doping charge by the International Testing Agency (ITA).
Gómez Becerra was provisionally suspended by both the UCI and his Polti VisitMalta ProTeam after testing positive for the banned substance boldenone, an anabolic steroid used mainly in livestock production, in an out-of-competition test in December 2025.
He was recovering from an operation on his collarbone at the time after a training crash, and was notified of the positive in late January.
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However, the ITA stated in a press release that - as reported by Ciclo21 - Gomez Becerra was subsequently able to establish that the boldenone in his sample resulted from the consumption of meat contaminated with the substance.
"The rider was also able to establish that he bore No Fault or Negligence for the anti-doping rule violation, and, therefore, no period of ineligibility was imposed and the rider is free to compete effective immediately," the ITA, which handles all anti-doping testing for the UCI, added.
"As the sample was collected out-of-competition, there are no competitive results to disqualify."
At the time that the case became public, Gómez Becerra issued a passionate defence of his innocence on social media, stating that "Cycling has given me everything, it's been the central pillar of my life.
"For that reason, I've never considered malpractice to obtain an advantage. It's never been, nor will it be, the pathway to reach an objective."
Reports that Gómez Becerra had been found innocent were already published in Colombian media last week, but it was only on Friday that the news was definitively confirmed.
Although appeals against the final verdict are technically possible, the ITA statement said that "The matter is considered as resolved from the perspective of the UCI/ITA."
There are rumours that after being cleared by the ITA, Gómez Becerra may return to racing as soon as this weekend in France at the one-day Paris-Chauny Classic.
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