by Ben » Wed Jul 09, 2008 5:35 pm
Fair bit on the web about Stefan Schumacher- some interesting stuff
I wonder if he gets any charlie from his mum or just billy whizz
More specifically, his mother, Dr. Christine Schumacher, prescribed Antiadipositum X 112 T for her son, who has suffered from allergies and allergic asthma since his childhood. The drug contains the substance norpseudoephedrine (Cathine), which both Dr. Schumacher and the Shimano team doctor claimed not to have found on the International Cycling Union's (UCI) list of banned substances. They further said that they asked the Dutch Anti-doping Agency (where the Shimano team was based - ed.), which informed them that the drug was not forbidden. Only then did she give her son the prescription in the belief that it was allowed.
The Bund Deutscher Radfahrer (BDR - German cycling federation) cleared him of the charges that September. A suspension could not be imposed, it ruled, since he had proved that he had made no mistake and therefore had no guilt on a doping violation.
Everything was tied up neatly and tidily, but the affair left questions in the minds of many – not to mention the jokes about having "a note from Mom" to excuse him.
One of those who had no questions about the affair was Hans-Michael Holczer, the outspoken team manager at Team Gerolsteiner. He signed Schumacher to a three-year contract, starting in 2006.