T-Mobile have sacked Patrik Sinkewitz, their rider who failed a drugs test in the run up to the Tour de France after he decided not to have a second urine sample analysed.
BERLIN: German cycling team T-Mobile have sacked Patrik Sinkewitz, their rider who failed a drugs test in the run up to the Tour de France after he decided not to have a second urine sample analysed.
The 26-year-old's decision means he accepts the test's result and has violated T-Mobile's Code of Conduct after he was found to have abnormal levels of testosterone following an out-of-competition test taken on June 8th.
"He broke his commitment to us, so his contract has been terminated", said T-Mobile's boss Rolf Aldag.
"Of course the positive doping test came as a shock to us, but it shows the effectiveness and importance of our internal testing and NADA's testing."
Aldag now expects a "complete and comprehensive explanation" from Sinkwitz, as well as his close cooperation with the German Cycling Federation (BDR).
"Patrik needs to come clean on everything, so some light can be shed on this affair."
Christian Frommert, Deutsche Telekom's senior spokesman, welcomed the action and said: "The fact that Mr Sinkewitz passed on the opening of the B-sample means that he is accepting the results of the A-sample. We thus have a clear-cut doping case."
According to Aldag, Sinkewitz will now face a two-year ban from competition - and will be obliged to repay a year's salary for a doping violation.
T-Mobile moved swiftly to sack Sinkewitz after he revealed his decision on Tuesday to not have his second urine sample analysed.
Sinkewitz's positive test was announced on July 18, three days after he had abandoned this year's Tour after crashing into a spectator at the end of the eighth stage.
This year's Tour de France was tainted by drugs, with pre-race favourite Alexandre Vinokourov of Kazakhstan testing positive for blood doping following his win in the 13th stage and the race leader, Italian Cristian Moreni ejected for testing positive for testosterone, and Michael Rasmussen of Denmark thrown out after a row over missed drugs tests.
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