Rogers not investigated

What happened on the T-Mobile Team in 2006 belongs to the past and has nothing to do with the current team, according to team manager Bob Stapleton. Former T-Mobile pro Patrik Sinkewitz had claimed that doping had been organised on the squad even in 2006. "Those events took place under the prior management and show the problems at the time the new management stepped in," Stapleton told Cyclingnews on Thursday, November 1. "The sponsor clearly saw problems and acted."

Stapleton took over the team as of January 2007. He emphasized that the squad is now focusing on the young riders it has signed, such as Gerald Ciolek and Mark Cavendish, or newcomer Edwald Boasson Hagen. "They represent the hope for the future of this sport. This is fundamental."

He added that while he would have liked to have signed Erik Zabel for the coming season, it was not possible. "Zabel has a contract with Milram for 2008 and we don't interfere with that." Zabel could have helped "athletes like Ciolek, Cavendish and Hagen develop, who I believe are the future, credible stars of the sport."

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Meanwhile, Christian Frommert, director of sponsoring communications for parent company Deutsche Telekom, denied that he told the German tabloid BILD that the company was investigating Australian pro Michael Rogers, who denied having been involved in doping practices. "I never gave them that quote," he told Cyclingnews. "I was asked if I was surprised about the things going on in Freiburg [at the University Clinic, which was searched by police - ed.] and I said, these are the consequences after the story from Sinkewitz."