After the EWS races in Rotorua (New Zealand) and Derby (Tasmania) in March of this year, the drug Probenecid, which is on the doping list, was detected in Martin Mae's urine. The drug, which is banned for UCI athletes, was prescribed to him by an official NZ Enduro race doctor two weeks before the race. Maes had an injury to his lower leg, which had worsened into a severe inflammation. According to a media release from his team, GT Factory Racing, the doctor, Dr. Tom Jerram, explained: "Martin had suffered a lower leg injury which developed into a severe infection during his participation in the New Zealand Enduro (March 8-10, 2019). The infection worsened despite the standard doses of antibiotics administered and it had the potential to become life-threatening." Administering probenecin to enhance the effect of the antibiotic in severe infections is normal procedure, the doctor continued. The treatment worked and Maes' leg healed. According to GT Factory Racing, the Belgian had even enquired whether the medication was permitted for UCI athletes - apparently he had been misinformed.

No performance-enhancing effect

Probenecin has no performance-enhancing effect. It is on the UCI's doping list as a masking agent that can help make the detection of other prohibited substances impossible. With Maes, the case seems clear, at least that's how the UCI sees it. In its announcement, it writes: "The Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) announces that the Belgian rider Martin Maes has been suspended for a period of 90 days for an unintentional violation of the anti-doping rules." (Translation DeepL and Stefan Michel). The UCI rejected the request for a subsequent exemption for the treatment with Probenecid of the GT Factory Racing Team - after they had been informed of the positive doping result.
The amazing thing about the story is that Martin Maes, although still injured and after a normally debilitating course of antibiotics, won the EWS races in Rotorua and Derby, as well as EWS Round 3 in Madeira, where he tested negative again. Let's leave it at that, Maes is such an unusually strong rider that even a potentially life-threatening infection and subsequent course of treatment won't stop him from beating the best enduro riders in the world.
The 90-day suspension began on June 13, and Maes' results in Rotorua and Derby will be canceled. He retains his victory points from Madeira, but misses the races in Val di Fassa (Italy), Les Orres (France) and Whistler (Canada). With the two remaining races in California and Zermatt, he will not be able to save his season. In comparison, the fine of 2500 dollars weighs little. And what does the banned skier himself say? "I'm speechless at the moment. I've dedicated my entire life to cycling and bike racing since 2013. I've trained so hard to make my dream come true. An infected wound needed emergency treatment and we didn't check the doctor's prescription carefully. It's entirely our fault. Now I have to come to terms with the situation, train harder than ever and come back soon to turn this frustration into joy and performance on my bike."
At the 2018 World Championships in Lenzerheide, Martin Maes surprised everyone with his second place in the downhill race - he had hardly ridden any downhill races before and had focused entirely on enduro. What this means for the 2019 Downhill World Championships if he misses a large part of the enduro season will become clear on September 1 in Mont-Sainte-Anne.