Mathias Fluckiger is back. The Swiss is back in competition after six months due to doping problems, even if such a case it had shady implications. In Banyoles he was competitive right up to the 1st minute never getting out of the fight for victory: his participation was not initially planned, but in the end he showed up motivated and fit.
Fluckiger finished 6th in a World Cup order of arrival and was always in a tussle, bringing the pursuers back to the leading trio of the race. He also set the fastest time in 2 of the 6 laps.
THE EPISODE OF ZERANOLO
On the eve of the European MTB Championships, Mathias Fluckiger did not start due to a positive result during an anti-doping test carried out on 5 June 2022 at the Swiss Championships in cross-country in Leysin (won). Mathias Flückiger, silver alle Tokyo Olympics, had been found positive for a prohibited anabolic substance (zeranol) and had been provisionally suspended.
Mathias Fluckiger has always pleaded innocent, saying that the limit of Zeranol to determine a positivity is 5 ng/mL and only 0,3 ng/mL has been found. Such a low amount could only be detected thanks to the high-precision instruments of the laboratory where the sample was analyzed and which the vast majority of laboratories on the planet do not have. In other words, in other laboratories this amount would not even have been detected.
THE SOCIALS
It was a tough time for Mathias Fluckiger: a very tough period that affected his mental health and which resulted in his withdrawal from social networks as a more visible effect. Naturally this was the tip of the iceberg, what we saw: underneath there were much more complex problems.
Mathias Fluckiger is back and will be a tough nut to crack for everyone.
BANYOLES 2023 RANKING
| 1 | HATHERLY Alan |  | CANNONDALE FACTORY RACING | 1:20:25 |
| 2 | SCHWARZBAUER Luke |  | CLLCTV CANYON | 1:20:31 |
| 3 | CAROD Titouan |  | TEAM BMC | 1:20:40 |
| 4 | DE FROIDMONT Pierre |  | ORBEA FACTORY TEAM | 1:20:40 |
| 5 | VALERO SERRANO David |  | BH COLOMA TEAM | 1:20:43 |
| 6 | FLÜCKIGER Mathias |  | THÖMUS MAXON | 1:20:54 |
| 7 | COLLEDANI Nadir |  | SANTA CRUZ ROCKSHOX PRO TEAM | 1:21:43 |
| 8 | SARROU Jordan | | TEAM BMC | 1:21:44 |
| 9 | SCHELB Julian | | STOP & GO MARDERABWEHR MTB TEAM | 1:21:50 |
| 10 | FROM SILVA AVANCINI Henrique |  | CALOI TEAM | 1:21:50 |
