Read news from:
Austria
SHARE
COPY LINK

CYCLING

Cyclist Schumacher’s doping confirmed with B sample

The positive test of German cyclist Stefan Schumacher for EPO Cera during last year's Olympic Games has been confirmed by the B sample, his lawyer Michael Lehner said on Tuesday.

Published: 8 July 2009 08:30 CEST
Cyclist Schumacher's doping confirmed with B sample
Photo: DPA

The 27-year-old rider, however, continues to protest his innocence and is determined to clear his name.

Lehner said they are contesting in particular the circumstances under which the International Olympic Committee (IOC) analysed the B sample in a laboratory of the French anti-doping agency (AFLD).

Schumacher was one of six athletes who the IOC announced had tested positive for banned-blood booster erythropoietin (EPO) CERA in Beijing after samples were re-tested.

Having already tested positive twice for EPO CERA at the 2008 Tour de France, where he won two stages, Schumacher received a two-year ban from the International Cycling Union (UCI), the sport’s governing body, in February this year.

The German denies having ever doped and on April 1 took his case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in Lausanne who will judge the case on Wednesday.

The news about Schumacher comes the same week Germany’s retired former Tour de France winner Jan Ullrich was said to be up for disciplinary procedure by the Swiss anti-doping commission.

Ullrich won the 1997 Tour de France and was a multiple runner-up behind American seven-time winner Lance Armstrong before retiring from cycling after being sacked by his T-Mobile team in 2006.

Member comments

Log in here to leave a comment.
Become a Member to leave a comment.

CYCLING

Swiss rider dies after fall into ravine on Tour of Switzerland

Swiss rider Gino Maeder has died from the injuries he sustained when he plunged into a ravine during a stage of the Tour of Switzerland, his team Bahrain-Victorious said on Friday.

Published: 16 June 2023 12:54 CEST
Swiss rider dies after fall into ravine on Tour of Switzerland

Maeder, 26, fell during a high-speed descent on the fifth stage between Fiesch and La Punt on Thursday, after an exhausting day marked by three ascents over 2,000 metres altitude.

He had been found “lifeless in the water” of a ravine below the road, “immediately resuscitated then transported to the hospital in Chur by air”, organisers said.

But the next day, “Gino lost his battle to recover from the serious injuries he sustained,” Bahrain-Victorious said in a statement.

“It is with deep sadness and heavy hearts that we must announce the passing of Gino Mäder,” his team wrote in a statement.

“On Friday June 16th, following a very serious fall during the fifth stage of the Tour de Suisse, Gino lost his fight to recover from the serious injuries he had suffered. Our entire team is devastated by this tragic accident, and our thoughts and prayers are with Gino’s family and loved ones at this incredibly difficult time.”

“Despite the best efforts of the phenomenal staff at Chur hospital, Gino couldn’t make it through this, his final and biggest challenge, and at 11:30am we said goodbye to one of the shining lights of our team,” the team said in a statement.

Maeder had enjoyed a strong start to the season, finishing fifth in the Paris-Nice race.

American rider Magnus Sheffield also fell on the same descent from Albula, during the most difficult stage of the race with multiple climbs. The Ineos-Grenadiers rider was hospitalised with “bruises and concussion,” organisers said.

On Thursday, world champion Remco Evenepoel criticised the decision to compete on such a dangerous road.

“While a summit finish would have been perfectly possible, it wasn’t a good decision to let us finish down this dangerous descent,” the Belgian wrote on Twitter.

“As riders, we should also think about the risks we take going down a mountain.”

SHOW COMMENTS