BIKE has been investigating a doping case among German mountain bikers for almost a year. For the first time, we reported on the Case reported at the beginning of August 2018. At the time, officials only confirmed that the positive sample was from 2018. At the end of August confirmed the public prosecutor's office The Freiburg public prosecutor's office then investigated, but gave no clues about the suspected person or the doping methods used. In response to our renewed enquiry, the investigating public prosecutor's office in Freiburg has now for the first time provided clear information about the person and also revealed which doping methods are involved.
This is confirmed by the public prosecutor's office
In response to an enquiry from BIKE Magazine regarding the confirmed doping proceedings, the press office of the Freiburg public prosecutor's office replied on 6 March 2019 that
"...the Freiburg public prosecutor's office is conducting an investigation into various anti-doping offences against a 26-year-old female cyclist from the Hochrhein region, who has also participated in national and international sporting events for several years and is subject to training controls under sports law as a member of the National Testing Pool of the National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA). According to the results of the investigations to date, the athlete is alleged to have used a prohibited doping substance without a medical indication in 2017 in preparation for participating in a sporting competition. It is also suspected that the athlete had multiple infusions administered to her during medical treatment abroad between 2016 and 2018. Finally, according to the findings to date, it is suspected that she used prohibited doping methods (ozone therapies) on herself."
This is what the facts of the public prosecutor's office mean in plain language
The suspected person must be part of NADA's testing pool. We are still waiting for an answer from NADA as to the exact composition of this test pool. Until 2009, these lists were publicly accessible. Since 2010, the lists have no longer been published.
However, it can be assumed that all members of the national team, as well as all holders of a professional licence (issued by a UCI trade team) are part of this test pool.
With the mentioned Ozone therapy is blood doping. This involves taking blood from the athlete, which is then enriched with an ozone-oxygen mixture. The enriched blood is then returned to the athlete at a later date. The doping expert and journalist Ralf Meutgen has also confirmed a positive test for testosterone in his article.
Identity according to the exclusion procedure
The public prosecutor's office is not giving a specific name. As this is an ongoing case, we will not name anyone until this has been officially confirmed. However, the evidence is clear. According to our investigations, there is only one 26-year-old female athlete who was both part of the national team at the relevant time and also held a professional licence (in the current listing of the team is no longer a female member) and lives in the region in question. In addition, there is only one German professional mountain biker who has not raced since the first Cross-Country World Cup in South Africa in 2018 (athletes with ongoing proceedings are excluded from competitions).
