Azerbaijani junior Artyom Proskuryakov (Azerbaijan National Team) has been provisionally suspended after an Adverse Analytical Finding for Methamphetamine from samples collected at the 2025 UCI Road World Championships following the Men Junior road race on 23 September.
The UCI said the controls were conducted as “intelligence‑led testing,” and confirmed the presence of “Methamfetamine (D‑) and its metabolites” in two samples collected that day. Proskuryakov did not finish the race, according to Tissot Timing’s official results.
In a statement provided to media, the UCI wrote that Proskuryakov “has been notified of an Adverse Analytical Finding for Methamfetamine (D‑) and its metabolites in two samples collected – as a result of intelligence‑led testing – during the 2025 UCI Road World Championships (Men Junior road race) on 23 September 2025.”
Under the UCI Anti‑Doping Rules, the rider is provisionally suspended and “has the right to request the analysis of the B samples.” The federation added it would not comment further while proceedings are ongoing. Testing operations for cycling have been managed by the International Testing Agency since 2021, with the UCI retaining results management and prosecution.
Methamphetamine, referred to in the World Anti‑Doping Agency’s documentation as Methamfetamine or Metamfetamine (D‑), sits in class S6.A as a Non‑Specified Stimulant on WADA’s Prohibited List, which applies in‑competition only and carries a default sanction of up to four years for a first violation if intent is established. Non‑Specified Stimulants are treated more severely than Specified Substances, which means fewer pathways to reduced sanctions.
WADA’s current Prohibited List and widely used summaries of the List highlight that Methamphetamine is not among the “Substances of Abuse” that can trigger special, shorter sanction routes for social‑use cases.
The sample collection followed the Men Junior road race, where Proskuryakov was recorded as DNF on the official results service. The UCI did not disclose any additional contextual factors for launching the targeted control, but its description of “intelligence‑led testing” underlines the shift toward risk‑based targeting at major events, a strategy the ITA says integrates intelligence, investigations and analytics to supplement traditional test distribution.
Proskuryakov’s positive arrives in the early stages of his international career. Earlier this season he took bronze in the Scratch race at the Silkway Namangan international track tournament in Uzbekistan, a result celebrated by Azerbaijani media as part of a broader medal haul for the national squad. No statement from the rider or the Azerbaijan Cycling Federation had been published at the time of writing.
Cover image credit: Zac Williams/SWpix.com
