Team Katusha has elected to suspend former sprinter Erik Zabel in the wake of his admission that he used doping products throughout much of his career. In an interview with Süddeutsche Zeitung yesterday Zabel acknowledged that he used EPO, cortisone and blood doping from 1996 to 2004, after his name appeared on the “positive” list for EPO from the 1998 Tour de France.

In an official press release the team made a point of noting that Zabel’s doping confessions refer to his racing years and "do not have any connection with team Katusha whatsoever.” Zabel retired from active racing in 2008 and has subsequently served as sprint coach for Katusha since 2012.

“As a member of Mouvement Pour un Cyclisme Crédible (MPCC), Katusha follows a strong anti-doping policy,” the team said in a statement issued Tuesday morning.

Somewhat ironically, Katusha is currently led by Viatcheslav Ekimov, who rode for a series of years on Lance Armstrong's teams and never missed an opportunity to forcefully defend the American against all doping accusations. Last fall Armstrong was barred for life by the USADA on doping allegations, which he later admitted.

The Russian team has had four doping cases since 2009, with the most recent being sprinter Denis Galimzyanov (EPO) in 2012. The UCI denied the team a WorldTour licence for the 2013 season, but the Court of Arbitration for Sport ordered the team be given its licence.