Polish road and track cyclist Daria Pikulik has accepted an 18-month sanction for three whereabouts failures, the International Testing Agency (ITA) has announced. The decision concerns an anti-doping rule violation under Article 2.4 of the UCI anti-doping rules and carries the disqualification of all her competitive results between 9 December 2024 and 8 June 2026.
The period of ineligibility has been applied retrospectively and had already ended by the time the decision was made public. Pikulik, 29, did not contest the violation and accepted the consequences proposed by the ITA, which administers the UCI’s independent anti-doping programme. The agency said the case was resolved through acceptance of consequences rather than a contested final hearing.
A whereabouts violation is not a finding that a rider tested positive for a prohibited substance. It concerns failures to meet the requirements that allow anti-doping authorities to locate athletes for out-of-competition testing. Under the rules, three missed tests, filing failures or a combination of the two within a 12-month period constitute an anti-doping rule violation.
How the three whereabouts failures occurred
In a statement explaining her absence from racing, Pikulik said that two of the failures occurred in September and October 2023. After recognising the seriousness of the situation, she tried to keep her whereabouts information up to date, but said a third failure followed in September 2024 amid an increased workload and an oversight on her part.
Pikulik acknowledged the violation while insisting that she had never intended to breach anti-doping rules. She said she had completed dozens of doping controls during her career without problems and apologised to those who had been disappointed by the case.
“It was never my intention to violate anti-doping rules,” she wrote. “I apologize to everyone I’ve let down.” The Polish rider described the proceedings as a particularly difficult experience for herself and those close to her.
Her statement also refers to a March 2026 decision at the Court of Arbitration for Sport, which she described as carrying no penalty at that stage. The ITA announcement does not explain that earlier procedural account. Its published position is that Pikulik accepted the Article 2.4 violation and the sanctions subsequently proposed, with the decision still subject to appeal by parties entitled to challenge it under the UCI rules.
Which results are affected by the retrospective ban?
The ITA specifies the sanction period as 9 December 2024 through 8 June 2026, inclusive. Under Article 10.13.1 of the UCI rules, all competitive results obtained during that period are disqualified, together with the associated medals, ranking points and prizes. That covers results recorded during 2025 and any races Pikulik contested before the end of the period in 2026.
Pikulik raced for Human Powered Health during those seasons, and her published results included a third place at the 2025 Vuelta CV Feminas. Records from the affected period will need to reflect the ITA decision, although updated classifications and any redistribution of places, points or prizes will depend on the relevant governing and organising bodies.
Her silver medal in the women’s omnium at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games is not affected by this decision’s stated disqualification period. Pikulik won that medal in August 2024, nearly four months before the start date of the sanction.
Photo Credit: Cor VosWhat the decision means for Pikulik’s career
Pikulik is one of Poland’s most accomplished track riders. Her Olympic omnium silver was the high point of a career that has also included success in road sprinting, with victories at the Tour Down Under, Tour of Guangxi and several Belgian one-day races. She has raced alongside her sister Wiktoria, including in track Madison competitions.
Her transition into a regular Women’s WorldTour programme had taken place with Human Powered Health. The sisters extended their agreements with the team through 2026, giving Daria a route to continue combining international road racing with track ambitions. Among her notable results before the sanction period was victory at the 2024 Argenta Classic.
The published ineligibility period ended on 8 June 2026, so the announcement does not impose a further 18 months of suspension from its publication date. The immediate sporting consequences concern the loss of the results within the specified window and the record of a whereabouts anti-doping rule violation. The ITA said it would make no further comment on the case.
