Like Michael Rogers, Belgian also tested positive after racing in China
Confirmed on Wednesday has having tested positive for Clenbuterol, with the news emerging at the same time as the similar case involving Michael Rogers, the Belgian rider Jonathan Breyne has reportedly been hospitalized following a suicide attempt.
According to the Belgian Sudinfo publication, the 22 year old Crelan-Euphony rider took an overdose yesterday. He was fortunately brought to hospital without delay and his stomach was pumped. While he remains in intensive care, he is conscious and will hopefully make a full recovery.
Breyne was tested at the Tour of Taihu Lake, in China, on November 5th. He subsequently went on to win the eighth stage on November 8th, then finished eighth overall. However his sample from came back as positive for Clenbuterol, a substance which is banned by WADA and others, but which is also known to be used by some farmers in China.
Separately, Tinkoff Saxo rider Michael Rogers tested positive for the same substance several days after the Tour of Beijing, which was also held in China.
WADA director general David Howman warned athletes two years ago about the problem of contamination of food, and said that race organisers and governments had a responsibility to ensure that athletes were protected.
Breyne spoke to Sudinfo prior to his suicide attempt. “The news hit me like it was the world collapsed on me. What have I done to deserve this? Nothing, absolutely nothing. I never took anything,” he said. “But how to prove that when the events took place in China?”
He told the publication that he felt sick since receiving the news and had not eaten since that moment. “I’m not hungry. All this makes me sick because I wonder why it has happened to me,” he said.
His father called Sudinfo an hour after that telephone interview to say that he had taken an overdose. Fortunately, he is recovering in hospital, but the case turns further focus on the complications of racing in a country with known issues of food contamination.
He was due to race with the Continental team Josan-ToWin in 2014, but faces a disciplinary hearing first. Like Rogers, his defence will likely be centered around trying to show that the substance was not intentionally taken.