Paolo Bettini (Quickstep-Innergetic) (Image credit: Bettini Photo)
Patrik Sinkewitz has allegedly said that Paolo Bettini and Davide Bramati provided him with testosterone gel when all three rode for Mapei/Quick.Step. In response, German TV threatened to pull the plug once again on cycling broadcasts, while Sinkewitz' attorney denied the statement.
The German television sender ZDF reported that Sinkewitz said under questioning, "I had Italian riders, who took care ... of this testosterone gel. I could name names, too, Bramati and Bettini." The three rode together on the teams Mapei and Quick.Step before Sinkewitz joined T-Mobile in 2005.
The German cyclist tested positive for testosterone in an out-of-competition control in June. At the end of July he confessed that he had used a testosterone plaster. He is cooperating with the investigators in hopes of getting a reduced suspension.
The ZDF, which is broadcasting the World Championships, has threatened to stop the broadcasts, just as it did this summer with the Tour de Franc when the Sinkewitz positive was announced. "If this dubious occurrence is not totally cleared up, then we will keep all of our options open," said ZDF chief editor Nikolaus Brender. "That includes stopping the broadcasts."
Sinkewitz' attorney, Michael Lehner, denied the authenticity of the quote. "My client has never said anything like that," he told the sid press agency.
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