Bicycle .net :: Bernard Kohl Rails At L’Equipe Papaer Over Doping Article

Bernard Kohl Rails At L’Equipe Papaer Over Doping Article

By editor on June 10th, 2009

Disgraced Austrian cyclist Bernhard Kohl on Wednesday vowed to sue French sport daily L’Equipe after they published an interview with him in which he spoke about doping at the 2008 Tour de France.

Kohl, who was stripped of his third-place finish and the best climber’s jersey after testing positive for EPO CERA, denies claiming that the race’s top 10 cyclists “could have been positive” or that it was strange that only three cyclists failed post-race drug tests.

The interview was published on Tuesday and prompted Professional Cyclists Association (CPA) president Cedric Vasseur to denounce Kohl’s “serious accusations” and assert that the Austrian’s claims “could not go unanswered”.

Kohl on Wednesday claimed that he had really said: “I think that top performances in high-level sport, like in the Tour de France, are difficult to understand without doping.

“It’s enough to look at the Tour de France. We race for three weeks at top speeds of 40km/hour and climb the equivalent of Everest five times,” he added.

The 27-year-old announced his retirement from cycling in May after being handed a two-year suspension.

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