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Quebec rider David Drouin fails doping test

The 21-year-old rider tested positive for a substance known as RAD-140 and now awaits hearing on May 15

Grand Prix Cycliste de Québec
Grand Prix Cycliste de Québec
David Drouin, No. 208, centre, rides for Team Canada at the 2016 Grand Prix Cycliste de Québec.

David Drouin of Saint-Prosper, Que., has failed a drug test, according to a report from La Presse.

A urine test conducted in Beauce, Que., on Dec. 4, has resulted in a positive result for RAD-140, an anabolic steroid that some reports say has a more powerful effect than testosterone.

Drouin, age 21, was informed of the result via email in January. “I was destroyed; I did not know what to do,” Drouin said to La Presse. Since then, the rider hasn’t been sleeping. “It’s like being accused of a murder and you’re in prison,” he added. “You did not do anything and you do not know how you got there. I hope this doesn’t happen to anyone else.”

Drouin had notable results in 2016. Racing for the Canadian national team, he was 10th overall in the Tour de Beauce. Near the end of July 2016, he joined Silber Pro Cycling as a stagiaire. The team took him to the Tour of Utah and the Tour of Alberta where he finished 31st and 54th overall, respectively. The climber also rode with some of world’s best riders in the Grands Prix Cyclistes de Québec et de Montréal, again with the Canadian squad. In October, he competed in the under-23 world championship road race in Doha, finishing with the winning bunch in 42nd place.

The rider had a contract to race with Silber in 2017, which was to start January 1. Drouin notified the team of the failed test shortly after he found out. His contract was soon annulled.

Drouin is struggling to make sense of his predicament and learn more about the substance that was found also in his B sample. “It’s a bodybuilding product to increase muscle mass,” Drouin said. “There is no cyclist who has been hit with that. It does not look good.”

Drouin has a hearing scheduled with Canadian Centre for Ethics on May 15 in Montreal. He hopes that with the help of his lawyer, he can avoid suspension.