Gerolsteiner to pull out, T-Mobile stay in - Summary
Gerolstein, Germany - German cycling sponsor Gerolsteiner announced on Tuesday that they would be withdrawing from sponsoring at the end of 2008, but fellow sponsors T-Mobile said they would be staying, even though they dismissed one of their cyclists on Tuesday for using a performance enhancing drug. The mineral water bottler Gerolsteiner have their own team in the Pro-Tour and are said to invest nine million euros per year in the sport, that has been plagued by doping scandals in the past few years.
Gerolsteiner spokesman Joerg Crosek said that his company would fulfil their contractual obligations till 2008. “But we will not make use of our renewal clause.
“Recent doping scandals have not been the main reason for our withdrawal,” Gerolsteiner said in a statement.
The announcement means that Gerolsteiner’s manager Hans-Michael Holczer will have to find a new sponsor from 2009. He has already had some meetings.
“There is no better time to enter professional cycling, as it can never become as chaotic again. I have a trustworthy team with an excellent infrastructure,” he said.
Holczer, together with T-Mobile, is one of the main proponents for the anti-doping fight. His team has, however, has had their fair share of doping scandals.
T-Mobile, meanwhile, on Tuesday dismissed cyclist Lorenzo Bernucci after the Italian told the team that he had used an appetite suppressant called sibutramine.
T-Mobile said a while ago that they would reconsider their involvement in professional cycling if their team was involved in another doping scandal, but said Tuesday they would not be pulling out prematurely.
Team manager Bob Stapleton said that they had dismissed the cyclist even though they did not know if he was trying to enhance his performance.
“We do know that it is unacceptable that riders take medicine without permission from the team doctors. It is a clear contravention of our ethics code and as such we were forced to take the decision,” he said.
Bernucci was on Tuesday also pulled from the Tour of Spain, which is currently being raced.
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