Denis Betsema told the press that last year's positive test for anabolic androgenic steroids was due to a contaminated supplement and was the fault of a Belgian pharmacist. However, his six-month suspension from the UCI, which ended on October 4, has been received with anger and frustration by competitors.

At Tuesday's press conference, Betsema was flanked by her lawyer, Johnny Meshaluk. She insisted that she had never intentionally used a banned substance in her career as a cyclist. She said, "I wouldn't wish this nightmare on anyone."

"My world has been turned upside down. I had the help of [doping expert] Douwe de Boer and lawyer Johnny Maeschalck [to prove my innocence]. I had to prove that I had never consciously doped. To do that, they had me examine all my supplements."

According to Maeschalck, they successfully proved that "there was no intent to dope" and the UCI accepted their defense on January 17, 2020.

"I don't want to undermine the system by making Denis the new Jean-Marc Bosman," Maeschalck said.

Betsema said he used a Belgian pharmacist to make the supplement because Belgian regulations are strict and he wanted to reduce the risk of contamination.

Betsema won 15 races last season, including a UCI World Cup victory in Koksijde. She then tested positive at the UCI Cyclocross World Cup in Hogelheide on January 27 and the Superprestige in Middelkerke on February 16. She was subsequently provisionally suspended by the UCI.

The UCI announced its decision on Betsema's case on Monday, stating that she had been banned for six months, from April 5, 2019 to October 4, 2019.

"The case has been resolved in accordance with the World Anti-Doping Code and the UCI Anti-Doping Rules by accepting the consequences. This resolution is subject to appeal by the Dutch National Anti-Doping Agency and the World Anti-Doping Agency," the press release stated.

The UCI Anti-Doping Rules provide for a shorter ban for unintentional anti-doping rule violations (10.2.1.1). In the case of contaminated products, etc., the UCI rules allow punishments ranging from a reprimand to a two-year suspension "depending on the degree of fault of the rider" (10.5.1.2).

Betsema is allowed to compete in cyclocross with immediate effect. She will return to her old team Marlux-Bingoal (now Pauwels Sauzen-Bingoal) and compete in Saturday's Kasteelcross.

Cyclocross competitors did not take the UCI's decision to impose a brief six-month suspension on Betsema lightly, with 15-time US national champion and World Cup winner Katie Compton expressing anger and frustration over the decision.

"This is ridiculous. How can an athlete test positive twice for anabolic steroids and get a 6-month off-season suspension? ...... @UCI_cycling has once again let down a clean athlete," she wrote on social media.

Katerina Nash, who accepted the presidency of the UCI Athletes Commission in 2017, also expressed disappointment in the decision. She criticized the UCI for not holding Betsema accountable for taking the banned substance, even if it was unintentional.

"The principle of strict liability in anti-doping is very clear. It means the same result: guilt, whether intentional or not. Athletes are always 100% responsible for what enters their bodies. I will always follow this rule and fight for #CleanSport (open in new tab) in every possible way," she wrote on Twitter.

Retired cyclocross racer Ryan Trebon also took to Twitter to express his frustration and disappointment with the UCI's decision to suspend Betsema for six months during the non-competition cyclocross season and said he welcomed her team back to competition this weekend.

"The fact that Denise Betsema tested positive twice in two different competitions, essentially giving her a six-month off-season suspension, and yet her team rehires her is a total fucking joke and a slap in the face to every athlete who works hard and follows the rules is a slap in the face to all hard-working, rule-abiding athletes," Trebon wrote.