Paralympic champion cyclist Thomas Peyroton-Dartet provisionally suspended after positive EPO test

The International Testing Agency (ITA) have announced that French cyclist Thomas Peyroton-Dartet has tested positive for Erythropoietin (EPO).

41-year-old Peyroton-Dartet returned the adverse analytical finding on September 5 at the 2026 UCI Para-cycling Road World Championships in Huntsville, Alabama, USA, where he won gold in the C3 road race two days later.

"The ITA reports that a sample collected during an in-competition testing mission conducted by the ITA on 5 September 2026 during the 2026 UCI Para-cycling Road World Championships in Huntsville, Alabama, USA, from French rider Thomas Peyroton-Dartet has returned an AAF for EPO," the ITA announced on Friday, adding that Peyroton-Dartet has been provisionally suspended from racing as a result.

EPO is a well-known substance in cycling, having come to prominence during the 1990s. EPO stimulates red blood cell production, increasing an athlete's oxygen-carrying capacity, and so is incredibly effective in endurance sports such as cycling. The EPO test was introduced at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney and was first carried out in road cycling at La Flèche Wallonne a year later.

"The rider has been informed of the case and has the right to request the analysis of the B-sample," continued the ITA statement.

"If the B-sample analysis is requested and confirms the result of the A-sample, the case will be considered as a confirmed anti-doping rule violation. If the B-sample analysis is not requested, the case will also go ahead as a confirmed anti-doping rule violation. The rider will have the opportunity to present his explanations for the result."

Peyroton-Dartet's gold this year wasn't the first medal of his career. He won the C3 road race at the 2022 and 2023 UEC Para-Cycling European Championships and took road race silver at the 2025 Worlds. His biggest triumph, however, came in 2024 at his home Paralympic Games in Paris, where he scored gold in the C3 time trial and silver in the C1-3 road race.

Peyroton-Dartet has been competing in para-cycling since 2021, when he hit a car while on a training ride. Since then, he has suffered from cerebellar ataxia, a neurological condition resulting in a loss of balance, poor coordination, and difficulties with speech and eye movements.

As well as competing in para-cycling events, Peyroton-Dartet has raced on the road with the EuroCyclingTrips-CCN Continental team at races around the world, including the Chrono des Nations, Tour de Taiwan, Vuelta Asturias, Tour de Beauce, and Tour du Maroc.

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