Shari Bossuyt on her doping positive: ‘I have no idea how the product got into my body’
Belgian found to have banned substance in body in March
Shari Bossuyt has not raced in six months following a positive doping test, but still believes she is innocent. “I have no idea how the product got into my body,” the 23-year-old cyclist said, who is now working in a truck garage, according to an article in Sporza.
On March 19, Bossuyt tested positive for the letrozole metabolite in France, and the news surfaced in early June. Since then, the 23-year-old athlete has faced suspension, and to this day, she remains perplexed. “I have no idea how the product ended up in my body,” she said. “‘Why me?’ I’ve often wondered.”
“Sometimes I also lament that I won that stage in the Tour of Normandy,” she said. “Otherwise, I wouldn’t have had to undergo doping control.”
Shari Bossuyt claims she is not a cheater, after anti-doping positive
Notably, Bossuyt tested positive for the same substance as cyclo-cross rider Toon Aerts, who also contested his innocence after testing positive in the same French region. Despite minimal values, Aerts faced a two-year suspension, whereas Bossuyt’s values are even lower.
With no alternative, her team Canyon-SRAM had to sideline Bossuyt. To make ends meet, she now takes on various tasks in a truck garage. “In the beginning, you may have some surplus funds, but a solution has to be found quickly,” she said. “I started there part-time in the marketing department.”
A year ago, Bossuyt’s prospects were promising. She and Lotte Kopecky took the world championships madison on the track. The road to an Olympic medal seemed open.
Is there still hope for Bossuyt to compete in Paris 2024? “No, I don’t believe in it,” she admits.
