Silence-Lotto fires Dekker

Dutchman Thomas Dekker, 25

Dutchman Thomas Dekker, 25 (Image credit: Bettini Photo)

Silence-Lotto fired Dutchman Thomas Dekker on Wednesday after counter-analysis results confirmed he used blood booster Erythropoietin (EPO).

"We already had him on non-active status," Team Manager Marc Sergeant told HLN.be. "After the second opinion showed he used banned products, it is over for us and we are finally dismissing him."

An anti-doping laboratory in Cologne, Germany, found Dekker positive June 20 based an out-of-competition control taken in December 2007. It released the positive result prior to the Tour de France this year, where Dekker was to support Cadel Evans.

Dekker, 25, rode for the Netherlands' Rabobank at the time of the test. He left the Dutch squad last August and joined Sergeant's Silence-Lotto at the start of this season.

Team Silence-Lotto suspended Dekker July 1 after the lab released the initial results. Dekker requested counter-analysis and promised to clear his name.

On Wednesday, he said that he had made a one-time mistake and confirmed the positive counter-analysis result in a press release. Dekker also said that he wants to return to cycling to prove he achieved his past results because of his talent and his teams' help. He is a two-time Dutch time trial champion and winner of the 2006 Tirreno-Adriatico and 2007 Tour de Romandie.

Dekker faces a likely two-year suspension before he can return.

Follow Cyclingnews on Twitter for the very latest coverage of events taking place in the cycling world - twitter.com/cyclingnewsfeed

Thank you for reading 5 articles in the past 30 days*

Join now for unlimited access

Enjoy your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1

*Read any 5 articles for free in each 30-day period, this automatically resets

After your trial you will be billed £4.99 $7.99 €5.99 per month, cancel anytime. Or sign up for one year for just £49 $79 €59

Join now for unlimited access

Try your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1