Belgian cyclocross star Toon Aerts (Team Deschacht-Hens-FSP) has spoken about the financial hit he has taken after his two-year doping ban, despite the UCI allegedly accepting that his ingestion of a banned substance was involuntary.
Aerts was suspended in February 2022 while racing for Baloise-Trek Lions after the testosterone-boosting substance letrozole metabolite was found in his system in an out-of-competition test on January 19, 2022.
During his suspension, Aerts worked as a physical education teacher. He returned to racing in February this year at the Exact Cross Sint Niklaas and now competes for Team Deschacht-Hens-FSP. He finished second at the UCI World Cup in Dublin on Sunday.
“The suspension cost me a lot of money, more than I could earn as a PE teacher,” Aerts told Het Nieuwsblad.
Aerts has always protested his innocence, and reportedly the UCI has recognised that the ingestion of the substance was involuntary. He was forced to pay a fine by the UCI and additionally paid their legal costs in addition to his own, as well as for his own lab tests as he attempted to prove his innocence.
“We found a contaminated supplement but in an opened container. To be legally binding, we also need to find a contaminated supplement in a closed container. And unfortunately, we have not succeeded to date. So officially, the source of the contamination has not been found,” Aerts’ manager Yannick Prevost said at the time.
Since returning to racing, Aerts’ race fee has also decreased. The memory of his suspension continues to plague the 31-year-old’s mind. He says that he continues to research the offending drug, seeking to find answers as to how it came to be in his system.
“My starting fee has dropped, but I am happy that I can do my sport again. For many people, this life is a dream. I certainly do not want to lose that realisation,” he said.
“I still think about it every day. Sometimes because of something small that reminds me of it, but every now and then I also actively google Letrozole, looking for the piece of the puzzle that is still missing."
Aerts is a former European champion, having won the title in 2016. He also finished on the podium at the World Championships on three consecutive occasions from 2019 to 2021.
His best result since returning to racing before his runner-up spot in Dublin was second at the Superprestige Merksplas on the 16th of November, losing a sprint finish to Laurens Sweeck. Aerts knows that he is not yet back to his best, but hopes to catch up to the rest over the coming months and says that the sport has moved on during his time away.
“I know what values I have pedalled over the past 10 years. At the moment I am not at my absolute top, but I am exactly where I should be,” he said.
“I certainly pedal what I used to pedal when I achieved podium places. Only the top has become much wider compared to two years ago. Nobody – except perhaps Eli Iserbyt and Niels Vandeputte – can currently say that they are consistently in the top five. Thibau Nys wins, but then also misses races. The same goes for Laurens Sweeck.
“If you made a mistake in the past, one rider would pass you. Now, with one mistake, you immediately lose five or six places.”
