Michel Hessmann (still under contract with Visma | Lease a Bike) knows when he may resume racing. The German tested positive for a diuretic last year and received a four-month suspension from the German NADA, which WADA did not accept. Press agency dpa writes that Hessmann settled with the global authority and was allowed to race again on March 14, 2025. Meanwhile, his team has also made a statement.
Hessmann tested positive for a urine drug in June 2023, two weeks after he was part of Primoz Roglic's winning Giro team for Jumbo-Visma. The B sample also came up positive, although the German doping authority NADA followed Hessmann's "not knowingly" explanation: he was given the least possible four-month suspension.
WADA did not appeal, but now the case is finally closed. Hessmann settled with WADA and will be allowed to race again on March 14, 2025, bringing his total suspension to 21 months. His contract with Visma | Lease a Bike expires on December 31, 2024, and the team announced late Wednesday night with a press release that it will not be renewed. Thus, it has been long since Hessman's last race in yellow-black.
Read more below the photo.
Hessmann, 24 years old at end of suspension
Rainer Cherkeh, Hessmann's lawyer, commented that the positive test resulted from contamination in a widely available painkiller. The NADA also agreed in their report "as the most likely cause," but it still went to CAS, the highest institution in sports law.
Because of the settlement, Hessmann now has certainty, which is important for the further continuation of his career. The good Dutch-speaking German will be 24 years old when his suspension ends, so he can still compete in the pro peloton for quite some time, although it is unclear which team he will be on behalf of. So the German will have to look for a new team.
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