Organisers cancel Tour of Germany due to lack of sponsors 17/10/2008 |
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Next year's Tour of Germany has been cancelled following the latest spate of cyclists testing positive for drugs.
Marketing chiefs said they were unable to finance the nine-day race due to a lack of interested sponsors.
The news comes a day after Austria's Bernhard Kohl admitted to taking Cera, a version of blood booster EPO, during this year's Tour de France.
Germany's Stefan Schumacher, plus Leonardo Piepoli and Riccardo Ricco, have also failed Cera tests.
"Due to the current developments in professional cycling we are no longer in a position to successfully finance and market the event," said a statement from Tour of Germany organisers.
Cycling in Germany has lost a lot of credibility with the spate of doping cases in the last two years, many involving German riders.
And the two main national broadcasters in Germany have now decided to give up live coverage of the Tour de France next year.
"The sporting value of the Tour de France has dropped considerably due to the many doping cases," said Fritz Raff, chairman of public broadcaster ARD.
"The value of the broadcast has similarly decreased."
ARD and fellow public network ZDF cut short their live coverage of the 2007 Tour de France after German rider Patrik Sinkewitz tested positive before resuming their broadcasts this year.
(Source: BBC Sport)
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