Mathias Flückiger actually wanted to Cross-country race at the European Championships in Munich fight for a medal today. But that won't happen. The Olympic silver medallist from Tokyo has been provisionally banned by the Swiss Cycling Federation and his team Thömus Maxon. The reason is a positive doping sample from 5 June 2022, which was taken at the Swiss Championships in Leysin. The MTB World Cup winner Flückiger from Leogang 2022 was allegedly found to have taken an anabolic substance that is on the doping list. According to SRF, it is said to be the substance zeranol - a growth hormone that was previously used in animal fattening and has been banned in the European Union since 1985. The Swiss doping agency Swiss Sport Integrity confirmed Flückiger's provisional doping ban yesterday.
The press release from Ralph Näf's mountain bike team, for which Flückiger rides, states:
Team Thömus Maxon Swiss Mountain Bike Racing has zero tolerance for doping. Team Thömus Maxon wants clean and fair sport. It firmly condemns doping. Together with Swiss Olympic, Swiss Cycling and Swiss Sport Integrity and the other partners involved, we will take the necessary steps to clarify the situation and then assess it further.
A decision on further cooperation with Mathias Flückiger will be made once the B sample is available.
Positive doping sample from the beginning of June 2022
Flückiger's positive doping sample came from the Swiss Championships 2022where the overall World Cup winner secured his third national title at the beginning of June. A week later, Flückiger had won the Short track race and the cross-country race at the World Cup in Leogang won. The three-time World Cup runner-up missed the most recent UCI World Cup races in Snowshoe and Mont-Sainte-Anne due to a Covid infection.
