Pauline Ferrand-Prevot admitted to using EPO in an exclusive interview with Stade 2, claiming that she made the decision to purchase and use the drug after months of mental harassment and abuse from Dortciney-Van Eyck's team director, Marc Bracke, and that her suspension An official statement was released regarding Marion Sico, who requested a reduction of his suspension.

Ferran-Prevot, the reigning mountain bike world champion, said she did not want to be misunderstood and that although Sico's situation is delicate, her testimony in the Stud 2 interview is disturbing.

"A post that requires attention and focus," Ferrand-Prevot wrote in a Facebook post. 'I don't want what I say to be misunderstood. This topic is sensitive. However, I am not one for duplicity and I am more the type to say what I think, so I admit that there is something about Marion Sico's recent revelations about the reasons for doping that makes me uneasy. But it is complicated."

Sico tested positive for EPO in a test conducted at the French time trial championships on June 27, 2019. She finished 10th in the time trial and 9th in the road race. She was scheduled to compete in Le Tour de France La Course, but withdrew from the race when she was informed that her A-sample tested positive for EPO.

At that time, she revealed on the Directvelo (opens in new tab) website that she had tested positive and was waiting for the B sample to be tested. She initially claimed that she had done nothing wrong and that women have elevated levels of EPO during their menstrual cycles. Later, through social media, Cicotto confirmed that her B sample also tested positive for EPO.

However, in an interview with "Stade 2" on Sunday, Cicott admitted that she Googled "EPO purchase" and purchased 10 vials through a Chinese website in May 2019. She said she took the pills on June 24. She said she made that decision after months of mental harassment and abuse from team coach Bracke.

Stade 2 obtained a series of text-based messages between Cicotto and Bracke in which Bracke demanded before and after pictures of her in a bikini. He also asked her to keep it a secret. According to Cicotto, Bracke requested these images to document her weight every Monday beginning in November 2018.

Both the UCI and the French Federation launched investigations against Bracke and the Dolcini Van Eyck team.

"If harassment from her team director is proven -- and it is the subject of an investigation from the French Cycling Federation, which cannot be accused of doing nothing -- he should clearly be condemned by the UCI," Ferrand-Prevot wrote.

"Women have the right to say no if their demands seem inappropriate. They should not fear retaliation, whether sporting or personal. That has already been stated and will be repeated if necessary."

Ferrand-Prevot said that what made her uneasy about this testimony was that it related to Sico's doping confession. She said that only athletes are responsible for what they put into their bodies. She compared Sico's testimony that the abuse and mental harassment she said she suffered at the hands of Bracke (opens in new tab) was the cause of her actions to that of Richard Vilancq. The French climber was one of the central figures in the "Festina affair," a widespread doping scandal in 1998.

"What bothers me more is that even if there is an explanation, we take full responsibility for our decisions and actions," Ferrand-Prevot said. Richard Vilenque said "à l'insu de son plein gré" (a comical phrase coined to deny doping.

"Accessing the internet to obtain EPO, purchasing it, receiving it, researching how to inject it, and then denying it is not (a neutral position). So I am concerned that the editing of the report leads people to believe that someone else is ultimately responsible for these actions."

Ferrand-Prevot further points out that many athletes experience difficulties and ups and downs, and suffer from mental and physical pressures, but do not resort to taking banned substances.

"What high-level athlete does not encounter difficult times, doubt, and suffering at some point in his or her career? It is impossible to fight doping and not react to this account. Otherwise, the sport, its sponsors, and nothing else will be lost."

Ferrand-Prevot is also a sympathetic figure for women, despite the fact that she chose to buy and use EPO, due to the coverage of Sico's testimony regarding her decision to dope, coupled with her request for a reduction in sanctions due to alleged abuse on the Dolcini-Van Eyck team. She said she was concerned that it appeared as if she was.

"I ask myself if the fact that Marion Sico is a woman puts her in a position where infidelity is spoken of in a sympathetic context and childishized. That is what bothers me. I am often asked to represent women's cycling, and my request is above all that I be considered a high-level athlete, an athlete, someone who dedicates her life to her passion. But at the same time, I must also accept my shortcomings. Are we talking about the Olympics in Rio again?

"Ever since I was a little girl, I have struggled with the notion of being a "weak woman." And I have told myself that such notions could make female cyclists victims. But I don't see it that way at all. We have the right to take full responsibility for what we do, whether it is good or bad. If I may say so, it is even our responsibility.

"When we can all do that, when we can all accept failure and success, then I believe we have achieved a strong concept of equality." Two days after International Women's Day, that might make a little more sense."