Patrik Sinkewitz was supposed to ride the World Championships in the year 2000 as an espoir, but was sent home shortly before the race due to "illness." He has now admitted to the Süddeutsche Zeitung that the "illness" was actually a questionable haematocrit value due to the use of EPO.
Sinkewitz said that when he joined the national team he spoke with then-trainer Peter Weibel about using EPO. Wiebel did not encourage him to use, but he also did not discourage him, Sinkewitz said. He bought it himself at a pharmacy and injected himself. Weibel knew that he was using the forbidden substance, he claimed, and tested the rider's blood himself.
While in Plouay preparing for the race, Weibel tested Sinkewitz' blood often, and the values were "always in the questionable area". When the results were still questionable before the time trial, "he told me, you'd better go home."
Sinkewitz turned pro with Team Quick.Step in 2001, and the doping continued there, he claimed. "At Quick.Step everything was taken care of and everyone knew who, what and how. That was systematic doping." When asked if team manager Patrick Lefevere also was aware of what was going on, the 27 year-old replied, "Lefevere is a bit naive in a certain way, but that he didn't know what was going on? He must have known what was happening. He's been involved for 30 years, let's not fool ourselves."
The former T-Mobile rider still hopes to return to the peloton, but admitted that it might be difficult to find a team. In that case, though, he has proposed a possible alternative. His attorney is Michael Lehner, who also represents Jörg Jaksche, who is also currently serving a doping - related suspension. Lehner and Jaksche "have started discussing the idea of whether they couldn't set up their own team. With a junior team, too, and above it a team with 'the dopers', those who have gone public with it. A real new start."
