Gerdemann Regrets Armstrong's ComebackTop German cyclist Linus Gerdemann, known for his staunch anti-doping stance, has criticised the return of Lance Armstrong because of the doping suspicions once surrounding the seven-time Tour de France winner. News of the 37-year-old American's return has not been universally welcomed, due mainly to a series of allegations, all unproven, that he used banned substances during his seven-year Tour reign.
Gerdemann won the first mountain stage of the 2007 Tour on his debut but missed this year's race, and the Beijing Olympics, because of a broken leg. Regarded as the rider who could help restore cycling's credibility in Germany, where doping scandal has left it on the scrapheap, the 26-year-old Tour of Germany winner says Armstrong's return will do no good for the sport.
"This is not positive for the credibility of cycling, but there's nothing anyone can do about it," said Gerdemann as he announced his switch from Team Columbia to Milram.
Gerdemann's comments come amidst a general freefall in German cycling following continued doping scandals, notably that of Stefan Schumacher and his Austrian teammate Bernhard Kohl, both star performers in this year's Tour de France for the Gerolsteiner team. In the wake of their positive tests, German television broadcasters ARD and ZDF announced they would not carry the 2009 Tour.
"For us, Armstrong is a piece of the past we don't want to see again," Rolf-Dieter Ganz, head of communications at ARD, told Die Welt newspaper in September. "The future belongs to young riders, certainly not to Armstrong's generation which we had hoped to have seen the back of."
