Italian blames mother’s diuretic pills for positive doping test

It took one professional race for Michael Bresciani riding for Bardiani-CSF to test positive for a banned substance. The 22-year-old was tested after participating in his first pro race in the colours of the UCI Pro Continental outfit at the 2017 Italian national championships.

Bresciani returned a positive test for a banned diuretic after the race and now faces a suspension. He is the third rider from the Bardiani-CSF program to test positive in a 12-month period. If the result is confirmed by the UCI, the team faces a ban between 15 and 12 months.

For his part, Bresciani isn’t too worried claiming he is confident he will be cleared. “I know I have done nothing wrong. The problem is that my mother takes Lasix for meals. In splitting the tablet, a few pieces might have got somewhere in my plate,” Bresciani told La Gazzetta dello Sport.

“The UCI is investigating the case and has not yet issued the verdict, but I do not think I can be punished for anything other than neglect,” he said.

Stefano Pirazzi and Nicola Ruffoni tested positive in late April on the even of the Giro d’Italia for a form of human growth hormone. The team was suspended for 30 days but was still allowed to start the Giro.

Cyclists who have returned positive tests in the past have gone to great lengths to explain the presence of banned substances in their system. Some of those excuses have been more creative than others.

A few of the highlights include Raimondas Rumsas whose wife was caught at the 2002 Tour de France with EPO, growth hormone and steroids in her car. They claimed the drugs were for his mother-in-law. The next year he would test positive for EPO.

Bjorn Leukemans tried to explain his positive test for testosterone in 2007 on the testers showing up while he was making love to his wife. The testers responded that while that may elevate testosterone levels it wouldn’t explain the increased presence of the synthetic version of the drug in his blood. He was initially found guilty but later cleared when he explained the positive test on a contaminated supplement provided by his team doctor.

The same year, Alexander Vinokourov tried to blame a positive test for homologous blood doping at the Tour de France on a crash the day before which he said made blood rush to his legs. Perhaps one of the strangest excused though goes to Tyler Hamilton, who in 2004 blamed a “vanishing twin” which was absorbed into his own body before birth for a positive test for blood doping. Hamilton eventually confessed to doping and wrote a book about the prevalence of banned substances in cycling.

It’s yet to be seen if Bresciani’s explanation will hold up. Ultimately, athletes are responsible for any banned substance found in their body whether the prohibited substance was intentionally or unintentionally used.