French cyclist given 10-month suspended prison sentence for doping

A former French professional cyclist was issued a 10-month suspended prison sentence and a €5,000 (£4,230 / $5,209) fine in a doping trial on Wednesday.

Marion Sicot, who competed between 2013 and 2019 and represented the national squad, tested positive for erythropoietin (EPO) in 2019. She was initially banned following the anti-doping control, and has now been sentenced in court for the import and possession of doping products.

The 32-year-old’s suspended sentence means she will not go to prison unless she commits another crime in the next 10 months.

Sicot’s trial began in November and took place in Montargis, south of Paris. During the proceedings, the court heard that she had taken prohibited substances, notably EPO and the fat-burning drug clenbuterol, between 2016 and 2019, during which time she rode for Belgian UCI team Dotcini-Van Eyck Sport.

Her positive EPO test came after the French National Road Championships in 2019, where she finished ninth. Sicot originally denied using the drug, and received a reduced two-year ban. This was later extended to the full four-year term, which lasted until March 2024.

During her trial, Sicot spoke of the “ease” with which she was able to take banned substances. She also said that doping formed “an integral part of this sport”, even if she experienced “no personal gain” in her career.

“I regret cheating and lying. I dirtied my sport,” she said. “I took the easy way out.”

Anti-doping in France is managed by the independent body Agence Française de Lutte Contre le Dopage (AFLD). According to the country’s law, use of doping substances is not a punishable offence, but the trafficking and possession of such substances is.

Laws are stricter in the USA, where use of performance-enhancing drugs is also punishable. In the UK, doping in sport is not a criminal activity.

Sicot was given a one-year suspended sentence on Wednesday, backdated two months to the beginning of her trial in November.

Also convicted in the case was a friend of the Frenchwoman, a former semi-pro cyclist accused of importing and possessing doping products. He received a 10-month suspended prison sentence and a €10,000 (£8,460 / $10,418) fine.

A 51-year-old doctor suspected of forging prescriptions likewise stood trial. He, too, was given a 10-month suspended prison sentence, a heavier fine of €20,000 (£16,920 / $20,836), and a six-month ban from practising medicine.