SAN FRANCISCO (CN) - A professional cyclist claims she was disqualified from competing after taking a diet supplement that made her fail a drug test. Flavia Oliveira, who rode for an Italian team, says ALR Industries' Hyperdrive 3.0 contains methylsynephrine, which is chemically related to banned oxilofrine. She says ALR knew or should have known it, but did not mention it on the label.
Oliveira, who rode for the SC Michela Fanini cycling team of Lunata-Lucca, Italy, says she tested positive in 2009 for oxilofrine, a substance banned in professional cycling, after taking ALR Industries Hyperdrive 3.0.
Oliveira says she never used any of ALRI's supplements before 2009, and that before she took them she "researched ALRI supplements, and satisfied herself through her research that ALRI 'Hyperdrive 3.0' did not contain any substances that were banned and/or prohibited from use in professional cycling." Oliveira says she consulted with colleagues, who assured her that the supplement did not fall within the anti-doping regulations of the Union Cycliste Internationale.
But Oliveira says her June 19, 2009 drug test proved otherwise, as Hyperdrive 3.0 contains methylsynephrine, a substance related to oxilofrine. Oliveira was suspended from competitive cycling for 2 years.
Oliveira says ALRI should have known Hyperdrive 3.0 contained a banned substance, and warned consumers on the label. She seeks the income lost from her suspension and any income she would have earned in competition. She is represented by Howard Jacobs of Westlake Village.
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