Austrian admits to doping, sharing drugs

The Austrian cyclist arrested in March for dealing in doping products has admitted to using doping products and also giving them to five or six colleagues and friends. However, he denied making any financial profit on the dealings.

The rider's name has never been publicly released and he has officially been identified only as "K". However, the Austrian Continental team RV ARBÖ Wels Gourmetfein announced that it had cancelled its contract with Christof Kerschbaum, whom it said was "in all probability" the rider involved.

The rider's attorney, Christian Kux, told the Austrian press agency APA that since his client was not financially involved, he should not be charged with dealing, which carries a penalty of up to three years imprisonment. For "merely" passing the doping products along, he could be sentenced to six months or a penalty of 360 days income.

Kux further said that "K" admitted to having doped since 2007 and also to having passed along doping product since the middle of 2008, up through this year. The rider said he got the products from a Viennese pharmacist.

It is not known whether this case is related to recent revelations made by Bernhard Kohl concerning doping among Austrian athletes.