Doping affair Team Telekom

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Cycling fans demonstrate at the Tour de France

The Team Telekom doping affair reached its climax in 2007 after the team's former masseur, Jef D'hont , accused the “Team Telekom” cycling team (predecessor of the now-defunct Columbia team ) with systematic doping and afterwards several former team riders ( Bert Dietz , Christian Henn , Udo Bölts , Erik Zabel , Rolf Aldag , Brian Holm and Bjarne Riis ) doping with erythropoietin (EPO), sometimes also cortisone and growth hormones admitted.

In the course of the events, T-Mobile ended its promotion in the cycling sector on Nov. 27, 2007 with immediate effect.

accusations

In April 2007, Der Spiegel published the preprint of a book by the Belgian Jef d'Hont , who worked as a masseur for the Telekom team from 1992 to 1996, in which he accused the team of organized doping. He accused the team doctors Lothar Heinrich and Andreas Schmid from the University Clinic Freiburg , who were originally also supposed to be responsible for the team in the 2007 season, of supplying the drivers with the doping agent EPO and other performance-enhancing agents. After the molecular biologist Werner Franke filed a complaint against the two physicians on suspicion of violations of the Medicines Act and attempted bodily harm , the Freiburg public prosecutor began investigations against Schmid and Heinrich. A little later, the team management announced the end of the cooperation with the University Clinic Freiburg at the end of 2007.

D'Hont also accused Jan Ullrich , the only German winner of the Tour de France (1997), of having doped. In addition to the doping scandal in the Telekom team, there are other allegations against Ullrich because of his involvement in the " Spanish doping scandal " shortly before the Tour de France 2006 , which are the subject of current investigations. These allegations led to the exclusion of Ullrich from participating in the tour and to the termination without notice by his employer, the T-Mobile team , on July 20, 2006. Ullrich publicly denied until June 2013 that he had ever used illegal means to improve performance, for which he was under cited the fact that his only positive test in 2002, which resulted in a six-month ban, was due to a pill consumed in a nightclub (amphetamine-based ecstasy ). However, blood bags found at the Spanish doping doctor Fuentes have now been clearly assigned to Ullrich by DNA analysis . In June 2013, Ullrich confessed to blood doping in an interview with Focus magazine , but denied using doping substances during his career.

Confessions

On May 21, the former telecom driver Bert Dietz confessed that during his time with the team, on the recommendation of the team doctors, he had taken the drug EPO to improve performance and confirmed the allegations of the former masseur Jef d'Hont .

The next day, Christian Henn , a former professional at Telekom and at that time sporting director for the Gerolsteiner team , said that he had been doping with EPO from 1995 to 1999. Henn should remain employed in the Gerolsteiner team in his current position.

After the former professionals Jens Heppner , Steffen Wesemann , Georg Totschnig and Danilo Hondo , as well as the former team boss Walter Godefroot denied that they had doped themselves or had known about organized doping in the team, Udo Bölts , who was for the team at the time , confessed Gerolsteiner , another former professional cyclist, worked doping with EPO during his time with Team Telekom. On the same day, the team doctors Lothar Heinrich and Andreas Schmid, meanwhile released from duty at the Freiburg University Clinic, announced that they had supported Team Telekom drivers with doping. Schmid pointed out, however, that this was only the case in the 1990s. The University of Freiburg responded by dismissing the two doctors without notice.

On Thursday, May 24th, the management of the T-Mobile team with team manager Bob Stapleton and head of sport Rolf Aldag reacted to these doping confessions at a press conference. Aldag confessed to doping with EPO until 2002. The management stated that they wanted to continue to hold on to him as sports director. At this press conference, Erik Zabel also confessed that he had been doping with EPO for a short time during the 1996 Tour de France , but not afterwards due to intolerance. Shortly afterwards, the former telecom professional and current sports director at T-Mobile Brian Holm followed suit with a confession that he had also doped with EPO.

During a press conference in Copenhagen on May 25, 2007, Bjarne Riis confessed to taking EPO, growth hormone and cortisone to improve performance from 1993 to 1998 . He bought the EPO and, according to him, took it himself. His victory in the 1996 Tour de France was also influenced by the doping agent EPO, cortisone and growth substances, as Riis publicly admitted: “I know that I won the Tour with illicit means. But I still worked for it. If you want to get the yellow jersey now, please, it means nothing to me. It's in a cardboard box. ”Riis' 1996 tour victory is no longer denied. The President of the World Cycling Federation Pat McQuaid said: "The eight-year limitation period has expired, we are no longer rewriting history".

Jörg Jaksche , who was part of the Telekom team from 1998 to 2000, has confessed to having been doping since 1997. In 1999 he stopped taking EPO for fear of being caught, but after a lack of athletic success, he continued doping.

Chronology of events

  • June 12, 1999: Der Spiegel reported for the first time in the media about illegal practices in the German racing team. The driver at that time Jan Ullrich and the company of the team boss Walter Godefroot took legal action against the article. Ullrich obtained a reprint of a reply. The news magazine has settled in further proceedings in court with Ullrich and Godefroot GmbH for the submission of a cease and desist declaration.
  • April 30, 2007: Former team masseur Jef D'hont raises serious allegations in the mirror , which are later confirmed.
  • May 2, 2007: The public prosecutor's office is investigating T-Mobile doctors
  • May 15, 2007: The T-Mobile doctors Andreas Schmid and Lothar Heinrich initially reject the allegations.
  • May 21, 2007: Former Telekom driver Bert Dietz confesses to doping.
  • May 22, 2007: Confession from Christian Henn
  • May 23, 2007: Udo Bölts confesses. In the evening, the doctors Schmid and Heinrich confess.
  • May 24, 2007: Erik Zabel and Rolf Aldag confessed at a press conference in Bonn ; Brian Holm also admits doping
  • May 25, 2007: Bjarne Riis confessed at a press conference in Copenhagen
  • May 29, 2007: Mario Kummer denies an alleged doping confession.
  • June 5, 2007: Walter Godefroot , former team manager of Team Telekom, denied having known anything about the doping practices of his drivers or promoted doping at a press conference.
  • June 30, 2007: Jörg Jaksche confesses to having doped with EPO to Spiegel magazine.
  • July 18, 2007: Patrik Sinkewitz , who has already left, has a positive doping test that was carried out on June 8, 2007 during a training control. As a result, ARD and ZDF stop reporting on the current Tour de France.
  • November 27, 2007: Deutsche Telekom AG declares its immediate withdrawal from sponsoring cycling. The team Team T-Mobile should continue under the direction of Bob Stapleton's company "High Road Sport".
  • October 16, 2008: After another doping revelation, ARD and ZDF end the live broadcast of the Tour de France.
  • May 13th, 2009: The external doping investigation commission of the University Medical Center Freiburg presents its final report.

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Ex-Telekom masseur charges T-Mobile doctors Radsport-News.com (Volk Media, April 29, 2007) ( Memento from September 29, 2007 in the Internet Archive )
  2. ^ Public prosecutor investigates T-Mobile doctors Radsport-News.com (Volk Media, May 2, 2007) ( Memento of September 29, 2007 in the Internet Archive )
  3. ↑ Ullrich: "I'm no better than Armstrong". In: radsport-news.com. June 22, 2013, accessed January 1, 2014 .
  4. ↑ Bert Dietz unpacks: Organized doping at Telekom on Radsport-News.com (Volk Media, May 21, 2007) ( Memento from September 29, 2007 in the Internet Archive )
  5. ↑ Henn also confesses doping on Radsport-News.com (Volk Media, May 22, 2007) ( Memento from September 29, 2007 in the Internet Archive )
  6. ↑ Headwind for confessions eurosport.com (Eurosport Media GmbH, May 23, 2007) ( Memento of August 22, 2007 in the Internet Archive )
  7. ↑ Welcome to the T-ränenpalast spiegel.de (May 24, 2007)
  8. ↑ Telecom celebrities grabbed eurosport.com (Eurosport Media GmbH, May 24, 2007) ( Memento from June 25, 2007 in the Internet Archive )
  9. ↑ Holm: Jeg tog epo to gange i 1996 (Danish) (May 24, 2007)
  10. ↑ Tour de France winner Riis admits doping on spiegel.de (May 25, 2007)
  11. ↑ The confession of "Bella" on spiegel.de (June 30, 2007)
  12. ↑ Godefroot: "Wasn't the man behind the system" radsport-news.com (Volk Media, June 5, 2007) ( Memento of September 29, 2007 in the Internet Archive )
  13. ↑ "Jaksche's doping confession" at spiegel.de: Part 1 , Part 2 , Part 3
  14. ↑ ARD and ZDF are temporarily withdrawing from tour coverage , Spiegel Online from July 18, 2007, accessed on August 5, 2015.
  15. ↑ Deutsche Telekom AG ends cycling sponsorship on: www.telekom.com , November 27, 2007 ( Memento from November 19, 2008 in the Internet Archive )
  16. ↑ ARD and ZDF stop live reports from the Tour de France , Spiegel Online from October 16, 2008, accessed on August 5, 2015.

See also