Posted at 1:39 a.m., Friday, July 20, 2007
Cycling: T-Mobile rider Sinkewitz asks for 'B' sample
Associated Press
BERLIN — German cyclist Patrik Sinkewitz, who tested positive last month for elevated levels of testosterone, has asked for his backup B sample to be analyzed.The head of Germany's Cycling Federation told ZDF broadcaster today the results of the second test should be known by July 29.
Sinkewitz was tested on June 8, and the initial A sample came back positive. He has already been suspended by his T-Mobile team pending results of the B test.
If the second sample is positive, Sinkewitz faces being fired by his team and could receive a two-year ban from the sport.
Sinkewitz started in the Tour de France, which began in London on July 7, but dropped out after colliding with a spectator after stage 8 on Sunday.
His positive test prompted German public TV stations ZDF and ARD on Wednesday to drop their coverage of the Tour "until further notice." Private Sat-1 television picked up the coverage a day later.
Sinkewitz was tested with four other Telekom riders during a training camp in the Pyrenees. One of the five cyclists was Linus Gerdemann, who won a stage at the Tour.
Germany's National Anti-Doping Agency said it usually takes up to four weeks for a lab to examine a sample and that the result of Sinkewitz's test became known Monday. The agency then informed the German cycling federation.
