Schumacher ready for comeback
German hopes for Vuelta ride, but willing to wait until 2011 to start again
Stefan Schumacher is preparing for his comeback to pro racing after serving a two-year doping-related suspension. His ban runs out at the end of August, but he knows it may be until 2011 before he races again.
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“I am fit and am excited about racing again,” he told the German newspaper Teckbote.de
He is looking to sign with a Professional Continental team, and said that he is holding discussions with several teams.
Schumacher, 29, denied that he has reached an agreement with the Italian team Acqua & Sapone where he would supposedly be riding with fellow German Matthias Kessler. Kessler, whose two-year-ban for testosterone doping expired last summer, is still recovering from head injuries suffered in a crash on Mallorca earlier this year. “That is not a theme at the moment.”
It looks more likely that his comeback will be next year rather than this year, he said. “The timing is really not ideal to find a team,” he said, although he has not given up hopes of riding the Vuelta a Espana. That race starts on August 28, the day after his suspension ends.
Schumacher was suspended for two years after testing positive twice for EPO-CERA during the Tour de France 2008. He also tested positive for the same substance at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing.
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