German cycling federation to file charges

The German cycling federation is preparing to file charges against the unkown rider who allegedly claimed the federation told him to get a false diagnosis of testicular cancer to cover up a positive doping test. Meanwhile, Philip Schulz, who told of the case, has now said that it may not be true.

"We will file charges this week against an unknown person, Rudolf Scharping, president of the Bund Deutscher Radfahrer (BDR) told the dpa press agency. The charges will be for slander and defamation.

Scharping said the charges would "specifically not be against Philip Schulz" the amateur rider who repeated the claims of the other rider to the press. On German TV, Schulz had said that another amateur rider tested positive for the hormone hGC in 2007, and that an employee of the BDR recommended that he "get an official diagnosis of testicular cancer to get out of the doping case."

On Wednesday, however, Schulz said that he couldn't rule out that the cyclist had not told him the truth about the matter.

The BDR once again denied the charges. "All employees of the BDR who deal with athletes have given their employer written statements that the claims are false," Scharping said. The employers are also willing to give these statements under oath if required.

Schulz tested positive for amphetamines in May 2008 and was given a two-year suspension. He is trying to get the ban reduced by half by becoming the first amateur to use the "cooperative witness" rule.(SW)

(Additional editorial assistance from Susan Westemeyer)