By Susan Westemeyer
Gerolsteiner's Hans-Michael Holczer is outspoken on the subjects of doping and anti-doping, but he has not jumped on the bandwagon of presenting a new and expanded anti-doping program for his team. What is Gerolsteiner doing along those lines?
"We're doing everything we're required to, like the DNA clause in the contracts," director sportif and former rider Udo Bölts told Cyclingnews. "Gerolsteiner is doing just as much as the other teams; we're just not doing it so publicly."
Interviewed at the team presentation Tuesday, Bölts noted that "Gerolsteiner was not involved in Operación Puerto and didn't have any scandals last year. So we're just going to keep on going the way we have been. It's not what you say, it's what you do.
"I think Holczer has said a lot on the subject, and has a very clear position, and the riders know that, too. Meanwhile we are at a point where the riders must know the consequences of a doping case on the entire team; it would be the end of a lot of jobs. A team is a good sized undertaking these days, with nearly 50 employees. Why would someone want to gamble with that?"
