Schumacher fighting to return

Despite a positive test for CERA involving blood samples from this year's Tour de France, Stefan Schumacher contends he has a right to race in 2009. Schumacher's attorney Michael Lehner told the German news magazine Welt, "Schumacher is not suspended and there is no sporting procedure against him. He must be given a license for 2009."

The French Anti-Doping Agency (AFLD) head Pierre Bordry told Welt, "The procedure against the German rider is underway. We want to sanction him."

In October, the AFLD announced that re-tests of Schumacher's blood controls from the Tour de France were positive for CERA, a new generation of EPO.

Lehner questioned, among other things, the re-testing of the samples. The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) allows samples to be re-tested for "research purposes" or for a further investigation of a positive analysis, neither of which applies to Schumacher's case, the attorney argued.

If Schumacher does receive a license, he would still have to find a team. His former team Gerolsteiner stopped after this season. He had signed with Quick Step for the coming year, but in light of his positive test, the Belgian team declared his contract void.

Two other riders came up positive for CERA after being re-tested, Leonardo Piepoli of the then-Saunier Duval Team and Schumacher's Gerolsteiner teammate, Bernhard Kohl. Kohl has admitted to using the drug, while Piepoli requested examination of the B-sample.