Leukemans trusted team doctor

Björn Leukemans has had his day in court on doping accusations, and his attorney is confident that his client will be cleared of the charges. "An athlete is and remains responsible for his own health, and must watch out that no prohibited substances come into his body, which is correct," attorney Johnny Maeschalk said. "But it is not possible that you cannot trust your own team doctor."

The Belgian rider tested positive for testosterone in an unannounced test shortly before the World Championships last year. He claimed that the positive test was due to a product prescribed by team doctor Sam Vermeire. The product was Prasteron, which contains the steroid DHEA (Dehydroepiandrosterone), which is on the forbidden list. Both Leukemans and the doctor were fired by Team Predictor-Lotto, now Team Silence-Lotto.