Stefan Schumacher signs for Kuwait-Cartucho.es

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Stefan Schumacher will race for the Spanish-Kuwaiti Continental squad Kuwait-Cartucho.es in 2017, the team has announced. It was rumoured earlier this week that the German would join alongside former teammate Davide Rebellin.

The team, which is a development of the Massi-Kuwaiti Cycling Project, would not confirm if Rebellin had signed up for a 25th season in the peloton but did announce Schumacher's signing with a press release on Wednesday morning.

"For the young team he will be one of the important men for the structure, contributing experience," the press release read.

"The experienced rider arrives at the team to be one of the references, coming from the German Continental team Christina Jewelry Pro Cycling. After an extensive sporting career, with victories in the Tour de France, Giro d'Italia, Amstel Gold Race and the Tour de Pologne, the German riders will be one of the pillars in the Asian and Spanish calendar, contributing his experience to the young riders and results for the team."

Schumacher turned professional in 2002 with the Telekom team and rode for Team Lamonta, Shimano-Memory Corp and Gerolsteiner. He won two stages of the 2008 Tour de France and spent a stint in the yellow jersey. However, he tested positive for EPO substance CERA during the race and was banned from racing in France.

The ban was handed out by the French authorities, who looked after the anti-doping tests during the Tour de France at the time, and it took a further month before a two-year ban was confirmed by the UCI and was extended worldwide. Schumacher gave a second positive test for CERA in 2008 at the Beijing Olympics, although it wasn't confirmed until April 2009. He later had his result from the Olympic road race scrubbed from his record, as did Rebellin, who also gave a positive for CERA after finishing second in the road race. 

Schumacher initially denied taking performance-enhancing drugs, but in 2013, just over two years after his comeback, he admitted to taking drugs and at one point said he had been taking them 'like pasta'.

Schumacher returned to racing at the end of 2010 after the Court of Arbitration Sport reduced his ban. Since returning, Schumacher has won stages of the Vuelta a Asturias, the Tour of China and finished third overall at the 2012 Tour de San Luis.

Earlier this week, the team confirmed four other signings: Axel Costa, Andreas Keusser, José Manuel Gutiérrez and Fernando Grijalba.