The cyclist Valentina Cavallar denounces that she had to pass an anti-doping control at her home next to the body of her deceased mother

The Austrian cyclist Valentina Cavallar He disappeared from the competitions on August 9, just before the ninth stage of the race began. Women’s Tour de France in Nice. The reason for this absence had not been revealed, but now it has been the runner herself who has made the reason known, which is none other than the loss of her mother.

“For personal and family reasons I had to end my season early after this year’s Tour de France. Normally I prefer to keep my private life away from the public eye, but this is something I feel is important to share. Losing my mother in September has changed the way I see life forever. You can spend much of your life chasing goals, pushing your limits, measuring success in results, victories and achievements. But losing someone you love makes you realize how little it really matters in the end,” he writes on his account. Instagram the Austrian runner.

Below highlights the Team SD Worx rider that “life is not about how much you achieve, how successful you become, or how many people know your name. It is about the people you love, the moments you share and the memories you create”, before denouncing an event that has had a great impact, and that is that he had to undergo an anti-doping test, which he had to spend just a few hours after his mother died and in the next room where his mother’s body rested.

In that sense, Valentina She makes it clear that she understands the importance of clean sport and the need to have to pass controls, but she comes to ask for a little more sensitivity in the situation she was experiencing.

“I understand the importance of clean sport, and I have always respected the responsibility that comes with being a professional athlete. But at that moment, I clearly was not thinking about cycling, competition or my responsibilities as an athlete. I was a daughter who had just lost her mother. Having to undergo a doping test under those circumstances felt deeply painful, deeply out of place and disrespectful towards my family. It was a moment that made me reflect on how easily we can forget that behind every athlete, there is a human being with a life, a family and emotions. I believe in clean sport. But I also believe that humanity, compassion and respect should never be forgotten.”