Sinkewitz makes doping admission

Sinkewitz's was the first drugs case to hit this year's Tour

Disgraced cyclist Patrik Sinkewitz has admitted using illegal blood-booster erythropoietin (EPO) and undergoing banned blood transfusions in the past.
Sinkewitz was sacked by T-Mobile during this year's Tour de France after failing a pre-race drugs test.

"I felt guilty about it all," the 27-year-old told the German magazine Der Speigel in an interview for Monday.

However, he said he stopped using EPO in 2006 and still blamed his result on a testosterone gel used in training.

The German cyclist was suspended during the Tour de France after testing positive for elevated levels of testosterone on 8 June.

He recently spent five hours giving evidence to the German Cyling Federation's (BDR) disciplinary committee in an effort to get his expected two-year ban reduced.

But he told Der Speigel he first started taking EPO in 2003 when he rode for Team Quick-Step and continued the practice at T-Mobile until 2006.

"It was no secret then that EPO made you faster," he said.

He said he had blood transfusions - a practice banned by the sports governing body - to improve his blood's oxygenation and increase red cells, administered by team doctors Lothar Heinrich and Andreas Schmid, who were sacked in May after admitting giving cyclists EPO.

"In November 2005, at the time of our first meeting, I definitely spoke to them about blood doping and they said to me that it was possible," he added.

"They did not give out EPO readily and only did it so our riders wouldn't go to any other doctors."

However, Sinkewitz said all doping operations in T-Mobile stopped after the 2006 Tour and the team was completely reorganised.

He also maintained that his failed drugs test was the result of applying some testosterone gel to his arm to help his recovery after training and added the quantity was "the bare minimum."