French cyclists and experts issue warning about unforeseen consequences of suspension: "Risks of suicide are considerable"

That was the experience of Marion Sicot. The French cyclist was caught using EPO in 2019. She was suspended for this and even had to serve a suspended prison sentence. “I was locked in my bubble, cycling was my whole life,” she said earlier. “I wanted to try to keep up with the best. I told myself that maybe the others were doing it, so I tried it too.”

The doping case was made even more difficult because she was involved in an abuse case at the time. Her former sports director, Marc Bracke, was allegedly the culprit. “He forced me to send him photos of myself in my underwear every Monday, under the pretext that he had to monitor my weight.” After the Belgian was banned from cycling, he committed suicide in 2022.

That is precisely what Sicot, now 33, wants to draw attention to. During and after her suspension, she struggled with suicidal thoughts. “It was like a bomb had dropped on me, and I had to deal with it alone. I only existed as Marion the cyclist. From one day to the next, I had nothing left. I couldn't imagine living without cycling. Without my loved ones, I wouldn't be here anymore.”

The Frenchwoman recounts her story in L'Équipe, where fifteen French athletes share their experiences with the unforeseen consequences of a doping suspension: “When you're suspended, everything is taken away from you, all your functions,” says soccer player Paul Pogba, who returned from a doping ban this summer. “Honestly, it was as if I was no longer a soccer player.”

Because coming back from a suspension is extremely difficult, even if you have served your sentence, you will probably never get the same opportunities again, and you will never be seen in the same light again: you are effectively suspended for life, it is concluded. “One day, a suspended athlete will commit suicide, as I almost did,” said Sicot, who has not returned to the peloton.

The French newspaper's investigation calls for urgent attention to be paid to the mental health of athletes, particularly those who have been caught using banned substances. “There is an urgent need to consider this problem as a physical and mental health issue,” says sports psychologist Mattia Piffaretti. “The risks of suicide are considerable.”