That news was communicated to me in the same way it has always been via a letter from USADA. I provided a sample for USADA in September 2020 that came back negative for any banned substances, it was not even atypical. I need to preface this news with the fact that I have always been a clean athlete, and I am proud of how much I have accomplished racing clean and being very careful with whatever I put into my body, especially after dealing with so many health issues throughout my life. This news comes with great heartache and sadness, and it is the worst possible way to end my cycling career.

In a statement, Compton denied having taken banned substances and said that the test had effectively ended her career. Anabolic agents are prohibited in and out of competition and have powerful performance-enhancing capabilities and can give an athlete an unfair advantage over fellow competitors. Her urine sample was analyzed using a specialized test, known as Carbon Isotope Ratio testing, that differentiates between anabolic androgenic steroids (AAS) naturally produced by the body and prohibited anabolic agents of external origin. US racer Katie Compton has been banned for four years following an adverse analytical finding for an anabolic agent.Ĭompton, 42, is best known as a cyclocross racer and is a 15x US Cyclocross Champion, a 4x silver medallist at the CX World Championships and a 2x CX World Cup overall winner but she also races mountain bikes including taking two wins at the Scott Enduro Cup in Utah and a second place at a Big Mountain Enduro round in Vail, Colorado.Ī statement released by USADA, the US Anti Doping Agency, confirms that Katie has accepted her suspension following an out-of-competition drug test on September 16, 2020. 'Over the past six months, I learned that I cannot prove that I didn't intentionally take anything, and I can't afford to keep fighting knowing the outcome will be the same regardless,' Compton said.' Unfortunately, seeing that it was five months between the sample collection and the notification, trying to figure what allegedly got into my body proved to be impossible, and I have decided to stop fighting an expensive and difficult battle and accept the sanction.Compton racing at the Scott Enduro Cup by Vittoria in Klondike Bluffs, Moab, 2015. She also stated that she had hired a lawyer to investigate how the substance got into her system, but was unsuccessful in finding the answer. In an official statement released on Wednesday Compton said that she has always been a clean athlete and that the news of her positive test was devastating because she said she has never intentionally or knowingly used a performance-enhancing substance. She was the first American woman to podium in the Cyclo-cross World Championships in 2007 and during her career she amassed 23 World Cup wins and five medals at the Cyclo-cross World Championships.

She has won the US national title in cyclo-cross a record 15 consecutive times during her career. The 42 year old had planned to retire after the UCI Cyclo-Cross World Championships in Arkansas, scheduled for January 29-30, 2022, and said she was incredibly sad to end her career this way.Ĭompton has been a long-time sponsored athlete of the Trek Bikes brand. Compton's racing schedule was limited since the positive test, but she has been disqualified from four victories in three local races and the US Open of Cyclo-cross, as well as all of her European results and prizes from the 2020-2021 season.

Usada katie compton