GB's Banks' 'hell' over no-fault doping violation

Lizzy Banks won stages at the Giro and raced for Britain at the Road World Championships

Britain's Lizzy Banks says she has been going through "absolute hell" after a 10-month case found her at "no fault or negligence" and without sanction following a positive doping test.

The 33-year-old, who has competed for Great Britain at the World Championships and won stages at the Giro d'Italia, was competing for World Tour team EF Education-Tibco-SVB when she was notified of the adverse analytical finding last July.

Banks said she faced a two-year ban and spent about £40,000 contesting the result, which found traces of chlortalidone and formoterol, before being cleared in the ruling almost two months ago.

Despite having her suspension lifted, Banks said she will not return to the sport and was "seriously worried for her life" throughout the process.

"It was just an impossible task and I really felt like my whole life was over because I'd seen these cases in the news and I knew that these cases always ended badly," Banks told BBC Radio 4's Woman's Hour.

"I believe something had to change. I knew that if any athlete had to do this I was the one that could.

"I've never worked so hard at something in my life. I put absolutely everything into this, and I truly believe that public pressure is the only way to get Wada (World Anti-Doping Association) and Ukad (UK Anti-Doping) to change their rules because we tried and they would not listen.

"If I have to be the sacrificial lamb then so be it."

In a statement Ukad said: "UK Anti-Doping confirms that Ms Banks has committed anti-doping rule violations (ADRVs) and that the applicable period of ineligibility has been eliminated on the basis that Ms Banks bore no fault or negligence for those ADRVs.

"Ukad also notes Ms Banks’ comments with concern and will be looking into what it can do to better support athletes going through anti-doping rule violation proceedings."

Banks studied medicine before switching to cycling full-time as a latecomer in 2018.

She won two stages of the Giro - in 2019 and 2020 - and rode for Great Britain at two World Championships and multiple National Championships.

Banks said formoterol is something she had taken for years for asthma, however was unable to trace the chlortalidone, a diuretic which is banned as it can be used as a masking agent.

In a lengthy blog post she called her case a landmark ruling because she did not end up identifying the source of the contamination.

“No party thought I had ‘consumed’ chlortalidone with any intent, yet that’s how the system works and my life continued to be torn apart for nothing.

“It is difficult to emphasise enough how significant Ukad’s finding is that I bore ‘no fault or negligence’.

“To put it in black and white, I understand that this is the first time that Ukad has ever issued a finding of ‘no fault or negligence’ (and therefore zero sanction) when the athlete has not specifically identified the exact source of the contamination.

"They haven't acted properly in order to protect athletes like me from having an inadvertent contamination and ruining their lives and careers."

In a statement, Wada said: "This is a complex and nuanced area of anti-doping which Wada always strives to strike the right balance for the good of athletes and clean sport.

"Wada cannot comment specifically on this case, but reviews all cases to ensure they are dealt with appropriately under the rules, and reserves the right to take the appeals to the Court of Arbitration."