Last Friday (22), through a weekly column in WielerFlits’ RIDE magazine, Richard Plugge, manager of Jumbo-Visma, reported on the anti-doping accusations against Michel Hessmann, one of the team’s athletes, calling the event as something costly for all competitors.
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“August 16, 2023 was a dark day for our team. For the first time in ten years, we received the message that a driver on our team, Michel Hessmann, had tested positive for doping. It remains an open topic of discussion and pilots are also keeping an eye out. Unfortunately, it went wrong and a lot came our way. We have to look in the mirror, are we doing everything right?”, said the businessman.
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Throughout the column, the Jumbo-Visma manager recalled the frequent doping events in professional sport that occurred between 1990 and 2000, and that information about the cyclist’s case ended up unbalancing the team throughout the Vuelta a Espana .
Previously, after Michel Hessmann was notified, the team released a statement explaining the extent to which the athlete showed positive signs for doping from a substance found in “a diuretic that was contained in a medicine”, however, Jumbo- Visma did not specify further details about the measure applied.
Michel Hessmann will have the opportunity to appeal the measure when the investigation is completed. According to the World Anti-Doping Agency, if the cyclist is unable to explain why the substance was found in the tests, he could be punished for four years.
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