Former South African Champion Suspended, Booted from Tour of Britain for Suspected Peptide Doping

S’annara Grove was provisionally suspended from competition for suspected doping by the International Testing Agency (ITA) on Friday.

Grove, who won the 2025 South African road race championships, was in the middle of racing this week’s Tour of Britain Women.

She did not start the third stage of the race following the ITA’s statement Friday morning.

The statement from the Agency said Grove, 32, returned an adverse analytical finding for ipamorelin when she was tested earlier this summer at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.

Ipamorelin, a synthetic peptide used to stimulate the body’s natural production of growth hormone, is banned by WADA.

The ITA confirmed Friday it has provisionally suspended Grove. She has the right to appeal.

The UCI outsources all its anti-doping activity and management of the athlete biological passport to the ITA.

This case stands out among cycling’s recent doping cases. The majority of suspensions or bans handed down by authorities in recent years have been to male athletes. The men’s peloton offers a larger testing pool and more opportunities to pick up suspicious results.

That Grove was racing with the lowly continental British team Smurfit Westrock Cycling in 2026 makes it more anomalous.

Neither Grove nor the team have issued a statement in response to the news.