Pollack to fight two-year doping suspension

Olaf Pollack has officially retired from racing but will continue to fight to clear his reputation. The German cyclist announced Tuesday afternoon that the Bund Deutsche Radfahrer (BDR) had given him a two-year suspension for doping, which he will appeal.

The BDR announced last September that Pollack had tested positive on July 6, with the B-sample also being positive. The name of the substance involved has never been released.

The suspension runs through September 13, 2011. It has not yet been confirmed by the BDR.

Pollack stopped riding in mid-August due to an eye problem, and has since retired from the sport with a detached retina.

In a statement issued Tuesday, Pollack said that he had given the BDR's disciplinary section “scientifically based and legal objections to the results of the A and B samples. It is regrettable that this contradiction was not given any attention.”

According to his attorney, Marcus Holze, the A and B samples delivered different results, and the B-sample could not be interpreted as positive.

Pollack, 36, rode for Teams Gerolsteiner, T-Mobile, Wiesenhof and Volksbank. His major successes came on the track, winning a gold medal at the 2000 Olympics and the World title in 1999.