Last summer Team Gerolsteiner riders could look forward to 192,000 euro in prize money from the Tour de France, based on Stefan Schumacher's two stage wins and Bernhard Kohl's third-place overall finish and the King of the Mountains jersey. But now both riders have been suspended for doping during the Tour, thus losing the awards, and leaving the remaining riders only 24,000 euro to divide.
„I only heard it two days ago. That is money which belongs to the riders," said former Gerolsteiner team manager Hans-Michael Holczer to the dpa press agency.
Both Kohl and Schumacher tested positive for CERA, a new generation of EPO. Kohl confessed to having used the product and was suspended for two years by the Austrian cycling federation. Schumacher, who has consistently declared his innocence, was also suspended for two years by the French national anti-doping agency, a verdict which he said he would appeal.(SW)
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