Cycling News Flash, April 29, 2009

Edited by Gregor Brown

Schumacher confirmed as second Olympic cyclist positive

By Susan Westemeyer

Germany's Stefan Schumacher, 27, confirmed as second Olympic cyclist positive
Photo ©: Roberto Bettini

Stefan Schumacher is the second cyclist confirmed to have tested positive for Erythropoietin (EPO) derivative CERA at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. The German cycling federation (Bund Deutscher Radfahrer, BDR) confirmed the news of its cyclist Wednesday afternoon.

"The BDR has passed along documents concerning a positive retroactive doping control to Stefan Schumacher. It is now up to him to request an opening of the B sample or not," the federation said in a brief statement.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced yesterday that six athletes had tested positive for CERA at the Olympics, two of them being cyclists. The other has already been identified as Davide Rebellin, who denies the charges. Schumacher and Rebellin were teammates on the Gerolsteiner trade team, which disbanded at the end of 2008.

The other four athletes are said to be three track athletes and one weightlifter. The AFP press agency identified one of the track athletes as Rashid Ramzi of Bahrain, who won a gold medal in the 1500-metre race.

Schumacher, 27, also tested positive for Erythropoietin-CERA during the Tour de France.. He has consistently denied all doping charges and is appealing his two-year suspension resulting from the Tour de France test.

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