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BERLIN - Two German doctors at the centre of a cycling blood doping scandal admitted today that they were were involved in clandestine efforts to use banned substances when they worked for Team Telekom.
In separate statements, University of Freiburg doctors Lothar Heinrich and Andreas Schmid said they took part in doping efforts. Both were suspended by T-Mobile -- the successor to Team Telekom -- and also the university in recent weeks.
"I admit that I supported doping individual cycling professionals from the mid-1990s," Schmid said in a statement released by his attorney. He had previously denied any wrongdoing.
"I made available to cyclists, upon request, drug substances, especially EPO," Schmid said, referring to the banned blood booster erythropoietin.
He added he "never gave any sportsman doping materials unknowingly or against their will."
Earlier this week, ex-Telekom riders Bert Dietz and Christian Henn confessed to using EPO. There was no test to detect EPO at the time.
Heinrich wrote: "I took part in doping of cyclists in the course of my work as a sports doctor."
He added he regretted making such an error.
Also on Wednesday, a third cyclist, Udo Boelts, admitted in an ARD television interview that he used EPO in 1995 and 1996.
Dietz and Henn broke the ice earlier with their confession that they were part of a systematic doping regime on the team that won the Tour de France in 1996 (Bjarne Riis) and 1997 (Jan Ullrich).
Dietz told German television that Team Telekom carried out the regime for its riders between 1994 and 1998. The 38-year-old said the team doctors from the University of Freiburg were involved and sometimes administered injections.
"The doctors did the injections themselves when they were on site," Dietz said.
"When they weren't there, team masseur Jef d'Hont handled it."
D'Hont wrote in a recent book that Telekom had encouraged riders to use EPO.
After Dietz's confession, former team mate Henn came forward on Tuesday and admitted he took part in the EPO doping system from 1995 to 1999. Henn has been sporting director at Gerolsteiner since 2001.
- REUTERS
