Brit says authorities ‘not fit for purpose’ after clearing her own name, reports Tom Davidson
British pro Lizzy Banks announced her retirement last week, revealing details of a nine-month battle with anti-doping authorities that left her with little faith in the system.
The 33-year-old received a landmark “no fault or negligence” ruling from the UK Anti-Doping Agency (UK AD) after she returned two adverse analytical findings last July; one for formoterol, an asthma medication she was already known to be taking, and one for chlortalidone, a diuretic she had never heard of, present only as a small trace.
Having previously trained as a doctor, Banks carried out extensive medical research, which she detailed in a 16,000-word blog post on her website. She was able to convince the authorities that her sample had been contaminated, and she was not given a sanction. The process, she said, cost her “well over €40,000”, and left her with suicidal thoughts.
“My mental health was shattered. I was a complete wreck,” wrote Banks, who rode for EF Education-TIBCO-SVB last season. “I was completely paralysed by fear. I had absolutely no idea where the chlortalidone had come from. I stopped taking my medications. I was afraid to eat just about anything; meat, milk, anything that had been through any kind of process, even drinking water concerned me.”
Banks mounted her case by instructing lawyers, evaluating 15 years’ worth of adverse findings for diuretics, and spending her savings on testing medication she’d used for contamination. “Just testing paracetamol cost €1,800,” she said. “They were all negative.”
Under the weight of her evidence, as well as a hair test that showed no trace of chloratalidone in the wider period before and after her positive sample, UK AD dropped the case. Banks was cleared to return to cycling, but was told she would still have Anti-Doping Rule Violations (ADRVs) in her name. She decided to retire.
“Even if I wanted to go back, I didn’t think I ever could because of how damaging this has been and the way it has destroyed my husband and me. I could not risk putting us both through anything like this again,” she wrote.
How to support Lizzy Banks Words
Donations can be made directly to Banks via her Ko-fi page: ko-fi.com/lizzybanks. After retiring from cycling, she is now hoping to train as a woodworker, and has said she would like to put funds towards a training course.
