Tour de France - Kohl admits to tour doping

Eurosport - Thu, 16 Oct 16:53:00 2008

Austrian Bernhard Kohl has admitted doping in the Tour de France in July when he finished as best climber and third overall in the race, and said he would work to help rid cycling of the scourge.

CYCLING 2008 Tour de France Bernhard Kohl - 0

The results of a doping test he took "correspond to the facts. I succumbed to temptation", the 26-year-old told a hastily arranged news conference on his return to Vienna, two days after his team manager reported the failed test.

Team manager Hans-Michael Holczer told Reuters then that Kohl had tested positive for EPO CERA, or Continuous Erythropoiesis Receptor Activator, the second Gerolsteiner rider found to have taken the substance to improve his performance.

"I have decided to renounce my right to a B test in order to clean my slate. A lot of people won't believe me. Who believes a doping sportsman who now admits it?", a sombre-looking Kohl said.

"I have only myself to blame for this mess," said the rider, who faces a two-year ban.

ORF said Kohl did not disclose where he obtained the CERA but that he had said he used it after crashing in the Dauphine Libere warm-up race in June because he felt weak.

Kohl buried his head in his hands and wept quietly at times.

"I had a bad feeling to have cheated so many fans and all of Austria, so many young people who became enthusiastic about the sport because of me. It was not a good feeling and that's why I'm relieved the truth is out," he told an ORF interviewer.

"As long as there are pharmaceutical products on the market that (supposedly) cannot be traced, the temptation will be relatively great to use them, if you're in a crisis situation and feeling weak, as I was," he said.

"I thought this medication could not be traced but it could be traced. I hope every medication can be traceable in future. I would like to play my part so the sport becomes cleaner."

The other Gerolsteiner rider to fail a dope test on the 2008 Tour was Germany's Stefan Schumacher, who won the two time trials.

Austrian Sports Secretary Reinhold Lopatka bemoaned Kohl's offence on Monday as a shock for all sports enthusiasts and said his country had lost a sporting idol.

But Lopatka said the incident showed the anti-doping system was working better than ever and could succeed in stamping out the scourge.

Kohl had become the first Austrian to win the Tour de France polka dot jersey for the best climber.

The positive tests of Kohl, Schumacher and Italy's Leonardo Piepoli this month were the result of the French Anti-Doping Agency retroactively testing blood samples for the new type of erythropoietin (EPO).

Reuters

Comment 22 - 41 of 41

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  1. It may be true that only 4% of cyclists are doping but­ these are the guy's who are stealing the Stages and­ screwing up the overall result's. I beleive the­ penalty's need to be much stiffer and on the same­ hand they need to speed up the testing and make sure­ this is done accuratly without bias.

    From , on Sun 19 Oct 2:49AM

  2. This is sad that so many people focus their attention­ on 7 riders. There were 173 clean riders in the TdF. ­ Team Columbia won 5 stages, all clean. Garmin finished­ 5th on GC, team was all clean. CSC-Saxo Bank won GC­ and controled the peleton, all clean. Third on GC was­ Silence-Lotto, all clean. Try giving the majority and­ their hard earned efforts some credit instead of­ ruining our sport over a few people who tried to cheat.

    From , on Fri 17 Oct 4:09AM

  3. The King of the Mountains for this year's tour is­ now a complete farce: did the competition even exist,­ it seems that all you had to do to win it was not test­ positive. Sastre's one short break up Alpe­ D'Huez wins him the two most coveted jerseys in­ cycling. However, it is a step forward in the right­ direction: a willingness to test samples however­ belated shows that officials mean business in stamping­ out doping.

    From loriblack18, on Thu 16 Oct 4:45PM

  4. I don't think the UCI go far enough. Riders found­ cheating should be given a life ban. Two or four years­ is nothing; it's still worth the risk. Let's do­ something about it! I am so discouraged by the latest­ results that I'm no longer going to watch any­ cycling. Why don't more riders speak out?­ That's because many of them.........

    From salhassan, on Thu 16 Oct 3:55PM

  5. The Tour authorities say it would be­ 'embarrassing' to have Lance back. This would­ make a cat laugh! Dopers have taken over since he left.­ We now get the results of the race months after it has­ finished when they get round to tesing.

    From r.braid, on Thu 16 Oct 10:40AM

  6. so kind of him to assist in the fight against doping­ now he's been caught!!

    "I would like to play­ my part so the sport becomes cleaner." what a­ @#$%!!

    From skelders_t, on Thu 16 Oct 9:59AM

  7. Off with his horrible cycling style......

    From Michael M, on Thu 16 Oct 9:28AM

  8. Funny how everyone is an expert now - and­ "suspected all along" blah blah blah
    Anyway,­ the guy is a cheating @#$% and I agree tour cheats­ should be banned for life

    From ffogil, on Thu 16 Oct 9:12AM

  9. I wish they would test the 2007 samples! Can you­ imagine?... But... maybe it's better to let bygones­ be bygones...

    From Enid, on Wed 15 Oct 11:50PM

  10. I agree with Dave, Kohls final time trial was­ amazing...to amazing. Im a big cycling fan and Kohls­ positive test really disappointed me. Im not accusing­ anybody but i personally think some of the CSC riders­ performances were a little to good. I know none of them­ have tested positive but in my eyes some are­ suspicious.

    From Andre, on Wed 15 Oct 9:14PM

  11. I can understand Kohl stying in touch in the­ mountains.

    But that final TT performance was clearly­ suspicious.

    From dave p, on Wed 15 Oct 8:58PM

  12. Cycling is not the only sport where people take drugs­ almost evry sport is involved and this will never stop­ me from watching the sport.
    If a person between the­ ages of 23-27 takes drugs and gets caught he is aware­ that the ban will be lifted and he will be able to­ return to the sport. If a person gets banned for life,­ the chance are too great.
    I SAY BAN THE @#$%S FOR LIFE

    From rory p, on Wed 15 Oct 6:34AM

  13. UCI announced starting in 09 there will be a 4 year ban­ for a positive.
    Steve S. There is nothing wrong with­ statistical data. Provides more fact than an emotional­ perception. Was announced today that testing for the­ TdF is complete. NO MORE positives. My calculations­ were incorrect, though. Forgot about the one positive­ that was resended (sp?). It is 7 out of 180, 3.8%. ­
    That means 173 riders tested negative. 173!!!!!!!!! ­ Any negative perception on cycling is because of the­ media and fans dwelling on 3.8% of the peleton during­ one race. Gilbert wins Paris-Tours; not one person­ comments to that article. Boonen gets beat at the last­ race in Belgiam; not one comment to the article. Team­ Columbia won the most races; CLEAN! Garmin had a­ highly succesful season; CLEAN! Astana made it through­ the season and won 2 GT's; CLEAN! Yet, hear we are­ commenting over and over about 3.8% of the TdF peleton.­ How many hits does EuroSport get per day on the Lance­ and Doping articles compared to articles about clean­ riders winning races? Willing to bet a weeks wages­ that media outlets magazine and newspaper sells triple­ everytime there is a positive. At least the ones who­ write about cycling. Any negative perception comes from­ the media and fans. Focus on the positive aspects and­ the perception will change.

    From , on Wed 15 Oct 2:59AM

  14. DROR S makes a good point. The penalties MUST be­ increased. Riders should be kicked out for a lengthy­ period. 18 months to 2 years is not enough & the­ amount of re-offenders shows it is no deterrent. A­ minimum 5 year ban is essential, not sure about for the­ teams though. Technically it is money from sponsors­ that run the events.

    From glen.shackel, on Tue 14 Oct 8:32PM

  15. I have to say i have no idea who now gets the polka dot­ jersey!! But i do recall that oscar pereiro won in­ 2006! an all time legend!!!

    From djwiners, on Tue 14 Oct 3:59PM

  16. ahahahah!! i remember writing on yahoo eurosport during­ the tour this year that KOHL WAS DOPED!!!
    and i am so­ right!! cos we dont know how the hell this guy came out­ of nowhere and get third.
    this sport is seriously a­ joke......

    From spurs, on Tue 14 Oct 1:42PM

  17. comment for infinite - why dont you jump on a bike and­ race without the drugs - then you will be speaking from­ experience. Or is it all them lance pics on the wall­ that cloud your view - idols are for dreamers dude -­
    Number one rule in pro cycling never go to a race­ without the team doctor and a drip handy.....

    From Gerry, on Tue 14 Oct 11:41AM

  18. xlim185 - I think that Karl M was making a point...

    From Azriel, on Tue 14 Oct 10:42AM

  19. OK it's not an epidemic but it's getting very­ hard to respond when people laugh at cycling. It is­ becoming a bit of a joke .....

    From ffogil, on Tue 14 Oct 10:18AM

  20. Oscar Perreiro, Caisse d'Epargne. Broke his­ shoulder in a fall in this years race, possibly in the­ Italian stage?

    From xlim185, on Tue 14 Oct 10:03AM
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