Marcel Kittel is known for his strong anti-doping stance. Now the fastest sprinter in the world hits out at Alexandre Vinokourov and Bjarne Riis whose doping past is tainting the image of cycling.
Top sprinter Marcel Kittel claims the the image of cycling is being tainted by former riders with a doping past who are now working as team managers.
"People like Vinokourov and Riis have a history and repeatedly attract attention for doping, especially in Germany," the German Giant-Shimano rider said during an interview with Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. "They ensure that cycling is constantly under suspicion. They harm their sport."
Alexandre Vinokourov is the manager of Astana which has recently come under fire due to several doping positives and a possible involvement in the Ferrari case, and tested positive for blood doping in the 2007 Tour de France. Bjarne Riis is the team manager of Tinkoff-Saxo and has admitted to have used doping to win the 1996 Tour de France.
In the media, Kittel has often been critical about cycling's bad image. Last year, he advocated for harsher penalties. "Doping in Germany should be a criminal offense. We want to punish dopers harder. Those who use illegal blood transfusions or inject themselves with EPO should be suspended for life, ' he told Die Welt back then.
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