Elizabeth Mary Lydia Banks (née Stedman; born 7 November 1990) is an English former professional racing cyclist, who rode for UCI Women's Continental Team EF Education–Tibco–SVB until 2023.[5] Banks took up cycle racing in 2015 after participating in bicycle touring and cycling to clinical placements as a medical student. She left her medical studies shortly before she was due to graduate in order to pursue her cycling career.[6]

Lizzy Banks
Personal information
Full nameElizabeth Mary Lydia Banks
NicknameLizzy
BornElizabeth Mary Lydia Stedman
(1990-11-07) 7 November 1990 (age 34)
Malvern, Worcestershire, England
Team information
Current teamRetired
DisciplineRoad
RoleRider
Amateur teams
2015University of Sheffield
2016Brother UK–Fusion RT
2017Sunsport Velo
2017Storey Racing
Professional teams
2018UnitedHealthcare
2019–2020Bigla Pro Cycling[1][2]
2021Ceratizit–WNT Pro Cycling[3][4]
2022–2023EF Education–Tibco–SVB[5]

Among her career highlights, Banks won two stages of the Women's Giro D'Italia in 2019 and 2020.

In July 2023, Banks was suspended from cycling after returning an adverse analytical finding in a UK Anti-Doping test, testing positive for asthma medication Formoterol and diuretic Chlortalidone. Banks contested the suspension on the grounds that the positives were a result of contamination for which she was not responsible. In May 2024, UK Anti-Doping accepted her position, removed her suspension from sport, and stated they would take no further action. However, Banks announced that as a result of the case she would retire from professional cycling.[7][8]

Major results

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2018
9th Chrono Gatineau
2019
1st Stage 8 Giro Rosa
2nd SwissEver GP Cham-Hagendorn
3rd Overall Grand Prix Elsy Jacobs
5th Overall Giro delle Marche in Rosa
7th Overall The Women's Tour
9th Overall Women's Tour de Yorkshire
2020
1st Stage 4 Giro Rosa
2nd GP de Plouay
6th Omloop Het Nieuwsblad

References

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  1. ^ "Bigla Pro Cycling Team". Cyclingnews.com. Archived from the original on 3 February 2019. Retrieved 3 February 2019.
  2. ^ "Bigla – Katusha". UCI.org. Union Cycliste Internationale. Archived from the original on 19 January 2020. Retrieved 19 January 2020.
  3. ^ "Ceratizit – WNT Pro Cycling Team". UCI.org. Union Cycliste Internationale. Archived from the original on 19 January 2021. Retrieved 19 January 2021.
  4. ^ "14 riders, 11 re-signings, 9 nationalities, and 3 new riders complete the roster for CERATIZIT WNT Pro Cycling for 2021". Ceratizit–WNT Pro Cycling. Ceratizit Deutschland GmbH. 11 November 2020. Retrieved 11 November 2020.
  5. ^ a b Bonville-Ginn, Tim (25 November 2021). "Lizzy Banks makes move to EF Education-Tibco-SVB for 2022". Cycling Weekly.
  6. ^ Hurcom, Sophie (15 September 2020). "The rapid rise of Lizzy Banks". Cyclingnews.com. Retrieved 15 September 2020.
  7. ^ "Lizzy Banks reveals positive doping test and nine-month battle to clear her name". Cycling News. 21 May 2024.
  8. ^ "Lizzy Banks quits cycling after 'life torn apart for nothing' in doping case". The Guardian. 21 May 2024.
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