Team Astana riders who have tested positive for doping "have done great damage to cycling and to the team," said Andreas Klöden. "They destroyed my chances at the Tour de France."
In an interview with the German magazine Sport-Bild, he said, "I have to suffer because members of my team screwed up and tried to cheat. As I see it, the Code of Ethics needs to be re-worked. No manager and, certainly, no team-mate – like me – can see what the other riders are doing. They used dope and the remaining 26 of us are being punished. That is just not right."
Team Astana left the Tour de France after Alexander Vinokourov tested positive for blood-doping. Andrey Kashechkin also tested positive for blood-doping earlier this month, and Matthias Kessler was positive for testosterone earlier this year.
Does Klöden regret his decision to sign with Astana? "If you had asked me that question before the Tour de France, I would have answered no." Everything was satisfactory – the sporting directors, the team management, the material. "Now I think differently. Unfortunately I cannot foretell the future. Other teams dealt fairly with their clean riders. We were treated as scapegoats; punished and thrown out."
He does not know what the team's future will be, saying only that "Very, very much will have to change if it is to continue." He said that he has not started discussions with other teams and has received the first inquiries." Klöden would not rule out return to T-Mobile. "I am a professional. I can imagine riding for any team which offers me the appropriate conditions for a successful Tour de France."
