Doping protocols under scrutiny after cyclist tested just hours after mother’s death
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Cycling’s doping protocols are under scrutiny after a rider revealed she was subjected to a drugs test just hours after her mother had died, calling the incident “deeply painful, profoundly out of place and disrespectful towards my family”.
Austrian rider Valentina Cavallar, who rides for the SD Worx-Protime squad, ended her 2026 season following this summer’s Tour de France Femmes for personal reasons.
She posted an emotional statement on social media on Sunday explaining her decision and revealing the impact of her mother’s passing in September.
She wrote: “Losing my mum in September has changed the way I see life forever.
“I have always known how important my family is to me, but I don’t think I ever truly understood just how much until I had to experience life without my mum.
“What made this experience even harder was that just a few hours after my mum had passed away, I had to undergo a doping control at home, in the room next to where she lay.”
Cycling’s governing body, the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI), stipulates that riders are required to give one-hour whereabouts windows each day between the hours of 6am and 11pm, and accept that they may additionally be tested outside those times.
Out-of-hours testing is highly unusual but came into the spotlight at the men’s Tour de France this summer after two-time champion Jonas Vingegaard and race leader Tadej Pogacar were both tested in the early hours of the morning, at 2am and 5am respectively the day before a major mountain stage. Vingegaard crashed out of the Tour on that stage, hours after his test.
The incident, and the Dane’s crash – which brought a premature end to his season – sparked debate over how the sport balances its anti-doping drive with consideration for riders’ health and welfare.
Cavallar did not say whether her test was conducted within her usual whereabouts window or out-of-hours, but the unpleasant timing of the test so soon after her bereavement has once again put the anti-doping system in the spotlight.
The 25-year-old stressed: “I understand the importance of clean sport, and I have always respected the responsibility that comes with being a professional athlete.
“But in that moment, I was clearly not thinking about cycling, competition or my responsibilities as an athlete. I was a daughter who had just lost her mum.
“Having to navigate a doping control in those circumstances felt deeply painful, profoundly out of place and disrespectful towards my family.
“I believe in clean sport. But I also believe that humanity, compassion and respect should never be forgotten.”
