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Cross-country skier Johaug in Lahti in January: suspension instead of penalty
Photo: Tomi Hänninen / Newspix24 / imago images
The end of his career as a professional racing cyclist began with a sore butt, says Stefano Agostini.
It was August 2013. The Italian, then 24, was recovering in his homeland of Veneto from the rigors of the Tour of Utah, a tour of the USA that Agostini finished in 35th place and with a damaged buttock.
He hoped for relief from a skin ointment that he found in his parents' house: Trofodermin.
His mother had used the drug herself to treat a rash.
Agostini asked his family doctor and then rubbed the remedy on the sore skin area.
Shortly thereafter, a doping control officer rang his front door.
Agostini gave a urine sample and declared on a form that he had previously used trofodermin - the information on recently used medication is mandatory for doping tests.
"I wasn't thinking badly," says Agostini.
About a month later, the UCI World Cycling Federation published a statement on its website: "Stefano Agostini temporarily suspended." Traces of Clostebol, a steroid that is on the list of the world anti-doping agency Wada, were found in his urine.
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