CYCLING:Every cycling win by Germany's T-Mobile team in the last 16 years is to be scrutinised by the country's professional body after another two former members admitted taking performance-enhancing drugs yesterday.
At an emotional press conference, a teary Erik Zabel, who now rides for Team Milram, said he took the banned substance erythropoietin (EPO) before the 1996 Tour de France.
Former team member Rolf Adag, now T-Mobile's sporting director, also admitted during the press conference to taking EPO from 1995 to 2002. "The sport had and still has a massive problem with doping," said Aldag.
Erythropoietin (EPO) is a hormone that boosts stamina by building oxygen-carrying red blood cells.
The dramatic double confession on live television yesterday brings to seven the number of T-Mobile cyclists who have admitted taking the hormone.
The German Cycling Federation (BDR) is demanding from every German professional cyclist, past and present, a written statement before the end of the month detailing any drug use. "I want a line to be drawn. If they don't make a statement, or if it is untrue, it will have consequences for them," said Rudolf Scharping, head of the BDR. "A dark shadow now hangs over every German cycling victory."
The BDR demand increases pressure on former T-Mobile team leader Jan Ullrich, who retired in disgrace from cycling last February. Spanish police are investigating his alleged involvement in a Spanish doping ring. He denies all doping charges and has declined to comment so far on the confessions of his former team-mates.
Ullrich's lawyer Peter-Michael Diestel told journalists yesterday morning "there won't be a similar tell-all from Ullrich. With his great talent, Ullrich didn't need to take drugs." Ullrich, who won the Tour de France in 1997, fired his lawyer yesterday afternoon.
Danish cyclist Bjarne Riis, who won the 1996 Tour de France for the team, has called a press conference for today.
Zabel told journalists he took EPO once, shortly before the 1996 French competition. The 36-year-old has won 12 stages of the Tour de France, taking the best sprinter green jersey six times and is the biggest name - and the first active cyclist - to come clean about his drug past.
"I doped myself because I could and because there were no consequences," he said, barely holding back tears. Conclusive tests for EPO were only introduced in 2000.
Aldag said he didn't know whether Ullrich took the banned hormone as they didn't share the same dressingroom.
A spokesman for T-Mobile said they would continue to sponsor the team as contracted until 2010.
Meanwhile, a US court began deliberations yesterday on whether cyclist Floyd Landis won last year's Tour de France with the help of synthetic testosterone.
