UCI Suspends Masters World Champion for Doping

The UCI provisionally suspended a 41-year-old American amateur cyclist after he tested positive for unspecified anabolic androgenic steroids at the UCI Gran Fondo World Time Trial Championship in Australia.

The UCI said Matthew Clark of North Salt Lake City, Utah, returned the positive sample in an anti-doping control on October 16, 2025, the same day he won the men’s 40–44 age group world championship.

Clark also won the U.S. national road title this summer in the same category.

The case was published on the UCI website on Tuesday.

As with any doping case, the provisional suspension is not final and may be challenged before the UCI Anti-Doping Tribunal or the Court of Arbitration for Sport. If upheld, the sanction could run two years or longer.

No details were released, but it is the latest case to emerge from the sometimes-opaque world of amateur and gran fondo racing, where anti-doping controls are sporadic at best.

Doping is not confined to the pro ranks. Over the past 20 years, there has been a steady trickle of cases in masters racing and high-profile gran fondos, where the lax anti-doping oversight is easy to exploit.

Anti-doping controls in amateur cycling are rare. There are no official statistics on testing, but most events operate with minimal monitoring.

Although licensed masters riders are bound by UCI and WADA anti-doping rules, unlike top professionals, they are not subject to registered testing pools, biological passports, or out-of-competition controls.

A WorldTour rider can face dozens of tests in a single season. A masters rider can race for years without ever being tested.

According to results, Clark won the men’s 40-44 world time trial title in October, beating a New Zealand rider by 20 seconds on a 22.9-kilometer out-and-back course along Australia’s Great Ocean Road.

He topped a field of 31 riders in his age group and finished third overall among 255 competitors across all categories, averaging 44.89 kph.