Cornelis Posted October 16, 2008 Share TDF star admits doping2008-10-15 20:45< = ="http://www.s24.co.za/s/Controls/Article/ArticleGreys.js?v=0" =text/>Email | Print http://cdn.24.com/files/Cms/General/d/16/1173c25ff615458dab3ac525723cc532.jpgBernard Kohl (Gallo)Vienna - Austria's Bernhard Kohl, the best climber at this year's Tour de France and third overall, admitted on Wednesday to using CERA, the new generation of banned blood booster EPO. Kohl's admission, reported by Austrian state television and news site oe24.at, comes 48 hours after he failed a test for the drug in retroactive controls carried out by France's national anti-doping agency. The 26-year-old rider said he took the drug to help him speed up recovery after a heavy fall in June's Dauphine Libere, a Tour de France warm-up race. "I want to come clean," a tearful Kohl told a press conference at Vienna airport. "I fell to temptation. The pressure was incredibly strong. I'm only human and in this exceptional situation I showed weakness." Kohl said he had acted alone, and insisted that Hans-Michael Holczer, his former boss at German team Gerolsteiner, knew nothing about his use of CERA. "There was no systematic doping. Holczer knew nothing about it." In acknowledging his wrongdoing, Kohl, who has given up the right to have his second sample examined, faces a two-year ban, the loss of the prize money he picked up at the Tour, and the tearing up of his new three-year contract with Belgian team Silence-Lotto. He is the fourth rider on this year's Tour after Italian duo Riccardo Ricco and Leonardo Piepoli and Germany's Stefan Schumacher to have been caught out by the new tests for Cera (Continuous Erythropoiesis Receptor Activator). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Willehond Posted October 16, 2008 Share Kohl admits he had 'a weak moment' Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bateleur1 Posted October 16, 2008 Share No surprise in that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean-Jay Posted October 16, 2008 Share he will have a weak moment when we all kick him in the chops as well Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
widget Posted October 16, 2008 Share Yup, theres nothing like "hindsight" is there.! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew Steer Posted October 16, 2008 Share I remember watching him and thinking how cool it was that he was hanging in there and fighting on with so much spirit...Friggin w*nker! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sean Badenhorst Posted October 16, 2008 Share he will have a weak moment when we all kick him in the chops as well You mean a weak movement... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean-Jay Posted October 16, 2008 Share he will have a weak moment when we all kick him in the chops as well You mean a weak movement... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Li Mu Bai Posted October 16, 2008 Share Sad, seems my 2008 Gerolsteiner Polka Dot Jersey will be a bit of a collectors item soon... anyone need to wipe their arse? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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