Four-year ban for using steroids for amateur British cyclist

British Masters 35-39 champion Andrew Hastings has been banned from all sport for four years after testing positive for two different types of anabolic steroids, UK Anti-Doping (UKAD) has confirmed.

News of his ban coincided yesterday with Junior National 10-mile Time Trial champion Gabriel Evans revealing that he had confessed to UKAD that he had used EPO earlier this year.

> Gabriel Evans admits EPO use

In a statement released on Thursday morning, UKAD confirmed the suspension imposed on Richardsons-Trek RT rider Hastings.

It said he had tested positive at the 2015 Team Time Trial National Championship in Newark, Nottinghamshire on 30 May 2015, organised by Cycling Time Trials (CTT).

His team finished second, but has now been disqualified.

Hastings claimed he was a victim of contamination, saying that he had borrowed a syringe from someone at a gym so he could inject himself with vitamin B12 following a workout in February.

Pat Myhill, director of operations at the national anti-doping organisation, said: “The message from UKAD is clear – the use of any prohibited substances in sport will not be tolerated.

“The Hastings case is the perfect example of how an individual makes choices which not only cheat himself but cheat his team mates and his opposition. That choice has resulted in a four year ban from all sport.

“More importantly however, Hastings’ actions put him at risk of seriously damaging his health. Steroids, and steroid use, continue to be a concern for UKAD and we are seeing an increase in the number of men turning to them for performance enhancing effects but also for cosmetic reasons.

“Often these steroids are bought with no consideration for where the products come from or how they are made.

“UKAD relies on information from a wide range of sources, not only to catch those who choose consciously to go against the spirit of sport, but to also unearth the root cause of the problem – those who supply these substances.

“I would encourage anyone who has information about doping, or the supply of prohibited substances, to come forward and talk to us in confidence,” he added.

In post published on Facebook alongside it's official statement on the issue, Essex-based Richardsons-Trek RT said it had suspended Hastings at the end of May when it first became aware he had tested positive.

“The situation and Andrew's actions are hugely depressing and frustrating for us and goes against everything we believe in as a team,” the post went on.

“Our sport has been through enough crap over the last few years and to be so closely linked to something like this is pretty devastating.

“There is no place in sport for drugs of any description, there are no grey areas and no excuses and everyone involved with the team holds those views and values.”

The post concluded by thanking the team's sponsors and followers for their support, adding: “It would be so easy to throw the towel in when something as annoying and disappointing as this happens, it makes you question your efforts, but we love cycling, it is a beautiful sport and we support UKAD in their decisions and quest to ensure it is clean. “