Bálint Makrai (MBH Bank CSB Telecom Fort) has been provisionally suspended after an out-of-competition sample collected on March 30 returned an adverse analytical finding for metandienone, the International Testing Agency confirmed on April 16.
Metandienone is the anabolic steroid commonly known as Dianabol. It falls under section S1 (anabolic agents) of the World Anti-Doping Agency's 2026 Prohibited List, a category banned both in and out of competition year-round. The 19-year-old Hungarian rider retains the right to request analysis of the B-sample, the backup portion of the original collection that can either confirm or contradict the initial laboratory result.
The sample was taken during an out-of-competition testing mission, meaning it was collected away from the immediate environment of racing. That timing is procedurally relevant but does not change the substance's prohibited status, since anabolic steroids are banned regardless of when a test is conducted. Makrai had been actively racing in events including GP Slovenian Istria, Popolarissima, and Tour de la Provence in the weeks before the March 30 collection.
An adverse analytical finding, the anti-doping system's formal term for a positive laboratory result, is not by itself a final adjudication of an anti-doping rule violation. The provisional suspension prevents Makrai from competing while the case is reviewed, but several steps remain before any sanction is determined. Whether he has requested B-sample analysis, offered an explanation, or received formal charges has not been made public.
Team context
Makrai's team, MBH Bank CSB Telecom Fort, is a Hungarian squad that stepped up from Continental to UCI ProTeam level for 2026. The roster includes former WorldTour riders Fausto Masnada and Alessandro Verre, as the team blends experienced professionals with younger talent. No broader team-level sanctions have been suggested in any of the available material.
The ITA now manages results and legal proceedings for anti-doping matters in cycling after the UCI delegated that responsibility to the independent body. That framework is designed to standardise enforcement and separate testing oversight from the governing body that runs the sport.
Metandienone is not a grey-area supplement ingredient or a substance that might appear through contamination in ordinary conditions. It is a classic anabolic steroid explicitly listed by WADA. Under anti-doping rules, the presence of a prohibited substance in an athlete's sample is sufficient to trigger a case. Questions of intent, source, and possible defences can affect the length of any eventual sanction but do not eliminate the initial finding.
Neither Makrai, MBH Bank CSB Telecom Fort, nor the ITA have issued public statements on the case beyond the confirmed adverse analytical finding.
Cover image credit: Simon Wilkinson/SWpix.com
