# Matija Kvasina

Matija Kvasina (born 4 December 1981) is a Croatian racing cyclist, who most recently rode for UCI Continental team Team Felbermayr–Simplon Wels. He finished 56th in the road race and 38th in the road time trial at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. In 2017, Kvasina was given a four-year doping suspension after a positive drugs test at that year's Flèche du Sud.

## Career

Born in Nova Gradiška, Kvasina was named by Synergy Baku as part of their squad for the 2016 season.
In 2016, he won the overall title at the Tour of Croatia.

## Doping

Kvasina tested positive for an experimental drug known as Molidustat (BAY-85-3934), during two tests taken during the 2017 Flèche du Sud - a race in which he won. Molidustat represents a class of drugs that act on the same physiological pathways and enzyme cascades as those which are activated during altitude training. Oxygen deprivation has the effect of stimulating the body's production of erythropoietin (EPO) - Molidustat imitates this. Kvasina was subsequently kicked out of the 2017 Tour of Austria.
In oxygen poor environments the human body manufactures a protein called hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF), which initiates and drives the processes which allow the body to adapt to those low-oxygen conditions. Typically this involves increasing the concentrations of naturally made EPO, mobilising iron and an increase in the rate of red blood cell production. Under normal oxygen environmental conditions, HIF is kept in check (its actions are inhibited) by an enzyme called prolyl hydroxylase (PH). Moldustat stops PH from blocking HIF, thus, increasing both the concentrations of EPO and red blood cells in the body, imitating altitude training.

## Major results
### 2002

    4th Trofeo Alcide Degasperi
    10th Overall GP Kranj

### 2003

    6th Overall Jadranska Magistrala
    7th GP Istria 3
    8th Trofeo Alcide Degasperi

### 2004

    1st Time trial, National Road Championships
    6th Overall Tour of Slovenia
    7th Overall Tour de l'Avenir

### 2005

    1st Road race, National Road Championships
    1st Overall Tour de Serbie
       1st Stage 2
    4th Tour de Berne
    6th Giro del Belvedere
    8th Overall Tour de l'Avenir
    8th Poreč Trophy
    10th Overall Tour of Slovenia

### 2006

    1st Time trial, National Road Championships
    2nd Overall Vuelta a Cuba
       1st Stage 11a (ITT)
    3rd Overall Rhône-Alpes Isère Tour
    4th Overall Tour de Serbie
    4th GP Triberg-Schwarzwald
    5th Overall Tour of Slovenia
    6th Overall Tour de l'Avenir
    9th Overall Regio-Tour
    10th Overall Circuit des Ardennes

### 2007

    National Road Championships
       1st Time trial
       3rd Road race
    1st Stage 2 Course de la Solidarité Olympique
    2nd GP Triberg-Schwarzwald
    3rd Overall Tour de Serbie
    3rd Giro del Belvedere
    6th Overall Tour of Slovenia
    6th Rund um die Hainleite
    10th Sparkassen Giro Bochum

### 2008

    1st Time trial, National Road Championships
    1st Overall Tour de Serbie
    2nd Trofeo Zsšdi
    2nd Ljubljana–Zagreb
    8th Overall Tour of Slovenia
    10th Overall Istrian Spring Trophy

### 2009

    2nd Giro Valli Aretine
    3rd Overall Grand Prix Cycliste de Gemenc
    6th Overall Tour of Slovenia

### 2010

    4th Trofeo Internazionale Bastianelli
    9th Giro del Veneto
    10th Overall Course de la Solidarité Olympique

### 2011

    1st Banja Luka–Belgrade II
    1st Central European Tour Miskolc GP
    National Road Championships
       2nd Time trial
       3rd Road race
    6th Overall Tour of Bulgaria
    6th Trofeo Avis
    8th Overall Tour of Slovenia

### 2012

    1st Overall Tour of Romania
       1st Stage 5
    2nd Overall Sibiu Cycling Tour
    3rd Time trial, National Road Championships
    4th Overall Tour of Szeklerland
       1st Mountains classification
       1st Stages 3 & 4 (ITT)
    4th Central European Tour Miskolc GP
    5th Overall Tour de Serbie
    8th Overall Istrian Spring Trophy

### 2013

    1st Time trial, National Road Championships
    2nd Overall Sibiu Cycling Tour
    3rd Overall Okolo Jižních Čech
       1st Stage 3
    4th Raiffeisen Grand Prix
    8th Overall Giro della Regione Friuli Venezia Giulia
    9th Overall Istrian Spring Trophy
       1st Mountains classification
    10th Overall Tour of Austria

### 2014

    1st Overall Rhône-Alpes Isère Tour
    1st Mountains classification Circuit des Ardennes
    2nd Trofej Umag
    3rd Road race, National Road Championships
    3rd Overall Okolo Slovenska
    5th Overall Tour de Bretagne
    6th Tour de Berne

### 2015

    National Road Championships
       1st Time trial
       3rd Road race
    3rd Overall Settimana Internazionale di Coppi e Bartali
    9th Overall Rhône-Alpes Isère Tour
    9th Overall Czech Cycling Tour

### 2016

    1st Time trial, National Road Championships
    1st Overall Tour of Croatia
    3rd Overall Tour de Serbie
    8th Overall Tour d'Azerbaïdjan
    9th Poreč Trophy

### 2017

    National Road Championships
       1st Time trial
       2nd Road race
    1st Overall Flèche du Sud
    7th Overall Rhône-Alpes Isère Tour
       1st Mountains classification