Germán Darío Gómez (Polti VisitMalta) has reportedly been exonerated in the anti-doping procedure opened after his adverse finding for boldenone, according to an exclusive from Revista Mundo Ciclístico.
The 25-year-old Colombian climber is expected to travel to Europe next week to rejoin the Italian team after several months away from competition. He has consistently denied wrongdoing since his provisional suspension in January, which we reported at the time.
The case began with an out-of-competition sample collected on 28 December 2025. Laboratory analysis identified boldenone and one of its metabolites. The UCI announced the result on 27 January 2026 and provisionally suspended Gómez while the anti-doping procedure continued.
Tuesday’s report said that procedure had ended in his exoneration, with the specific details yet to become apparent. His immediate plan is to return to the squad, with a race programme still to be specified.
The January suspension
Boldenone is an anabolic androgenic steroid listed under section S1.1 of the 2025 World Anti-Doping Agency Prohibited List. As a non-specified substance, it requires a mandatory provisional suspension under UCI rules when an adverse finding is recorded.
That suspension applied while the case was being examined. The initial notification opened a procedure in which Gómez had the right to present a defence, rather than establishing a final anti-doping rule violation.
The International Testing Agency said its independent anti-doping programme for the UCI handled the sample collection and laboratory analysis. The governing body retained responsibility for results management and prosecuting any anti-doping rule violation. Gómez could also ask for his B sample to be analysed.
In a public statement issued after the finding was announced, Gómez rejected doping as a means of advancing his career, calling cycling “the pillar and bastion of my life.”
Polti VisitMalta suspended his contract and excluded him from team activities while the proceedings remained unresolved, citing its zero-tolerance policy on doping.
“At Team Polti VisitMalta, we operate under a strict zero-tolerance policy towards doping,” the team said at the time.
“This principle is a non-negotiable foundation of our project and is clearly stipulated in all our contracts and in our Code of Conduct. In adherence to this policy and the UCI’s decision, we have also suspended the rider’s contract, and he will be excluded from all team activities pending the resolution of the proceedings.”
Gómez joined the team, then known as Polti Kometa, in 2024 after finishing fourth in the 2023 Giro Next Gen. The rider from Santander had also won Colombia’s Vuelta a la Juventud in both 2022 and 2023.
During his first professional season, he finished sixth overall at the Tour of Rwanda. He took the same overall placing at the 2025 Tour of Turkey, one of his strongest results before the suspension interrupted his third season with the team.
