Jaksche to concentrate on studies

Former bike rider Jörg Jaksche, whose one-year suspension for admitted doping ended this summer, has no plans to return into the peloton at the moment. Instead, the German said he committed himself to law studies.

After a link with Austrian Continental team Gouermetfein Wels was reported on Tuesday this week, Jaksche told Radsportnews that there had been no offer from the squad for him to become a professional rider again. "I met with team manager Lindlbauer in Salzburg," he said. "But our meeting was mainly on the question if I would do something with them in terms of anti-doping. We haven't made a decision yet."

Jaksche, who tried to get a contract with a team for months, has stopped hoping for a comeback even though his countryman Patrik Sinkewitz recently signed with Czech team PSK Whirlpool. Sinkewitz, a former T-Mobile rider, also confessed to doping and had a hard time finding a new team after his suspension (see Procycling interview).

Still, Jaksche did not rule out a return to competition. "If a team would call me tomorrow and want to take me on, I would think about it. But that is very hypothetical at the moment," he said.

Instead, the son of an ophthalmologist and a doctor has set a new goal for himself: becoming a lawyer. "After 12 years as a cyclist, it's a massive change," he said. Jaksche was one of the cyclists linked to the Operación Puerto scandal that shook the sport in 2006. In June 2007, he admitted his offense and since then collaborated widely with anti-doping authorities.