In April 2018 the International Cycling Union (UCI) has reported an anti-doping rule violation against the French cyclist Rémy Di Gregorio after his A and B samples tested positive for the prohibited substance Darbepoetin (dEPO). Without a hearing the Sole Arbitrator of the UCI Anti-Doping Tribunal rendered a decision based on the Parties' written submissions.
The Athlete rejected and Acceptance of Consequences offered by the UCI and disputed the jurisdiction of the Anti-Doping Tribunal. He argued that due to substantial delays the proceedings should be anulled.
The Athlete denied the intentional use of the substance and could not explain how it had entered his system. He challenged the validity of the sample collection, the chain of custody and the testing results and asserted that several departures had occurred.
The Sole Arbitrator holds that under the applicable Rules it has jurisdiction and it dismissed the Athlete's objections regarding the delays in the proceedings.
The Tribunal establishes that the Athlete's samples were analyzed in an accredited laboratory in accordance with the ISL. Further the presence of the prohibited substance had been established in his samples and accordingly the Athlete has committed an anti-doping rule violation.
The Tribunal deems that the Athlete only made uncorroborated allegations regarding the sample collection and the analysis procedure while he failed to demonstrate that departures could have caused the positieve test result. Although there are no grounds for a reduced sanction the Tribunal agrees that there were substantial delays not attributed to the Athlete.
Therefore the UCI-Anti-Doping Tribunal decides on 30 April 2020 to impose a fine and a 4 year period of ineligibility on the Athlete starting backdated on the date of the sample collection, i.e. on 8 March 2018.
Costs of the UCI for the results management, the sample analysis and the documentation packages shall be borne by the Athlete.
