Back in July 2018, former world-champion cyclist Janez Brajkovic was suspended by the sport's governing bodies after testing positive for the drug methylhexaneamine. But after completing his 10-month doping ban, the 35-year-old Slovenian is now making his comeback after racing in the CRO Race in Croatia earlier this month, the Sun has reported.
Back in August, Brajkovic opened up about his battle with the eating disorder bulimia in an emotional blog post titled 'Skeletons in the closet'.
The cyclist detailed how he unknowingly consumed methylhexaneamine in a food supplement, as he was struggling to consume proper meals as a result of his disorder:
"It's about what I've been dealing with throughout my career, on and off, but never gone completely. It's about poor relationship with food, disordered eating which became an eating disorder, bulimia. It happened quick and before I knew it, I realised I was not in control anymore. It had me under control, no matter what. [sic]
"The whole reason I took that meal replacement was, because it was the only thing I could keep in. In that period there wasn't a day I wouldn't cry before going out for a ride. I was desperate, and everything was dark to me. The thing I loved, I dedicated whole life to, was being taken away from me. I knew I had to give my body at least something, to function.
"And that was that meal replacement, oats, animal protein, natural flavours....and undisclosed methylhexaneamine unfortunately. [sic]"
The cyclist has since shocked his followers by sharing a picture of his emancipated legs following intense training, showing his incredibly lean limbs with veins and muscles popping:
He captioned the image above, which was shared back in August: "Still plenty of juice left after 7mJ of work."
However, it was the following image - shared on September 29 - that really concerned his followers. Captioning the pic, "It's only about not f***ing it up now", the cyclist posted another image of his leg, showing his incredibly strained leg muscles:
Several of the comments on the post were concerned fans asking Brajkovic if such intense training hurt.
Despite his hurdles, Brajkovic described his ban as a "blessing" as it allowed him to focus on himself:
"In a way this was a blessing, I found help, I'm doing well, and I'm not offended by negative comments if I know they're wrong. I don't care what other say or think what I should do and how I should live.
"I have self confidence back, I love myself. And in order to love others, you need to love yourself first. I can take a critic [sic] if it's justified, nobody's perfect. And as long as you get up after falling down, you're not a failure.
"This is why I want to race, cycling is me, we're inseparable. I'm aware there will be time to stop, and I have a future plan, but this is not the time yet."
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