Nicki Sørensen admits to doping during his career

Image 1 of 2

Former cyclist Nicki Sørensen has admitting to doping during his cycling career. The admission comes a day ahead of the release of report into doping in Danish cycling between 1998 and 2015. Sørensen also said that he had given testimony to Anti-Doping Denmark (ADD) as a way of helping himself and the sport.

“I have doped, I fully admit that. I'm sorry for that, and the decision, I wish to move on,” Sørensen told Danish website BT.dk. “I told ADD of my own experiences. I have done this to ease my conscience and because I also wanted to help the sport of cycling.”

Sørensen turned professional in 1999 with Team Chicky World, followed by a year’s spell with Team Fakta before he joined CSC-Tiscali, where he would spend the remainder of his career. In reports published in the Danish media on Sunday and Monday, it was rumoured that Sørensen had admitted to doping during the 2004 Olympic Games, however, he did not give an exact date when speaking to BT.dk.

"It happened in the early years of my career, and it is more than ten years back,” he said. “It was my own decision to do it and I can really only refer to ADD the report when it is published.”

Sørensen’s former team boss Bjarne Riis is also part of the Danish investigation but he denied that Riis or anyone else had shown him how to dope.

The 40-year-old, who retired from cycling at the end of last season, has been linked to doping in the past with former rider Michael Rasmussen pointing the finger at him back in 2013. On Sunday, Rasmussen accused the soon to be published report of trying to protect Sørensen by removing his name, which had been included in the original.

"I do not even have any desire to give my explanation about anonymity, I will also appear in the report,” said Sørensen. “ADD will not cover me, I have never been part of any deal. I had to approve the draft report, which has so clearly been sent to Michael Rasmussen by mistake.”

Sørensen is a four-time Danish national champion and has won stages of the Tour de France and Vuelta a España. Since announcing his retirement he has remained with the Tinkoff-Saxo team as a directeur sportif.