University clinic to examine charges

The Freiburg University Clinic has denied the charges made against it by former Team Telekom soigneur Jeff D'Hondt but said that it will investigate the matter. D'Hondt, who worked for Telekom during the 1990s, has claimed that team doctors associated with the clinic provided EPO at the request of riders.

"The clinic directors, especially the Sports Medicine Department, deny the charges emphatically," said a press release issued on Monday.

"Even if the clinic management can't recognize what the basis for the new charges is, it will do everything it can to explain the background, as it affects the clinic," continued the release. "In order to do this, the Freiburg University Clinic, in agreement with the President of the University, has called for an independent advisory committee, which will have only one purpose: to lay out the details of this case. The committee will be competently staffed by experts from various disciplines."

The T-Mobile Team, which still uses the clinic, has said that it may end its association if the allegations can be substantiated. "If the claims about the Freiburg University prove to be true, then we will look for an alternative (source of medical care)," said T-Mobile Team manager Bob Stapleton last week.