Rolf Sorensen in action for Ariostea in 1990(Image credit: Fotoreporter Sirotti)
Rolf Sorensen scored Rabobank's first classics win at the Tour of Flanders in 1997.(Image credit: Fotoreporter Sirotti)
Denmark's Rolf Sørensen and some Ariostea teammates before the start in 1988 (Image credit: Fotoreporter Sirotti)
Another of the riders prominent in the European peloton during the 1990s, Denmark's Rolf Sørensen, has today admitted in a press release published by politiken.dk that he utilised EPO as well as cortisone during his professional career.
"I used EPO periodically in the 90s," read Sørensen's statement. "I have also in some cases used the substance cortisone. There is no other excuse than that I did what I felt compelled to do to be an equal among peers.
"Over the past year I've been asked several times about this issue and I should long ago have come clean. This is not what happened, it's solely my responsibility and I apologise sincerely and with great humility for my tardiness."
Sørensen declined to name any other riders involved in doping.
"There will not be any names here. No allegations against other named individuals. It's not my style," said Sørensen. "The only thing I will say is that I, as we all know today, was not alone in it."
Sørensen sees a bright future for the current young generation of professional cyclists, but realizes that due to the doping legacy of his era victories by current professionals will still be called into question.
"The biggest price of my generation's is that there is now a widespread suspicion that all wins are doped. It is a price that is unbearable to live with and one they have not earned."
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A professional from 1986 through 2002, Sørensen enjoyed a successful career highlighted by victories in two of cycling's Monuments: Liège-Bastogne-Liège in 1993 and the Tour of Flanders in 1997. Other one-day victories include Paris-Tours (1990), Paris-Brussels (1992, 1994), Milan-Turin (1993) and Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne (1996).
Sørensen won two stages of the Tour de France (1994, 1996) plus wore the maillot jaune for four days in 1991 before being forced to retire from a broken collarbone. The Dane also won a stage of the Giro d'Italia, three stages in the Tour of the Basque Country, six stages plus two overall victories at Tirreno-Adriatico, two stages at the Tour of Romandie and two stages at the Tour de Suisse during the 1990s.
He won a silver medal in the road race at the 1996 Olympic Games, the first year professionals were allowed to compete, and came close to winning the overall World Cup title on two occasions with a second place overall result in 1997 and third in both 1989 and 1991.
Sørensen began his professional career with Fanini in 1986 and then moved to Ariostea from 1988 through 1992. From 1993 through 1995 he remained on Italian teams, Carrera Jeans-Tassoni and GB-MG Maglificio, and then moved to Rabobank in 1996. Sørensen stayed on the Dutch team for five years then closed out his career at CSC-Tiscali in 2001 and Landbouwkrediet-Colnago in 2002.
