Austrian Court drops criminal doping case against cyclists Kohl and Rasmussen
15.06.2010
By Play the Game
The court in Vienna has announced on Thursday that the case against Bernhard Kohl, Michael Rasmussen and and cross-country skier Christian Hoffmann for allegedly trafficking doping products has been dropped.
The courts confirmed the trio had invested a total of 93,906.40 euro into a blood centrifuge and related equipment since April 2006. The athletes used the equipment to treat blood with dynepo, Cera, and other doping products.
Prosecutors said that they had no proof that the three had rented out the machine to other athletes after the new Austrian anti-doping law came into effect in August 2008. Only then would their actions have been treated as criminal.
"The use of the centrifuge by third parties took place before the new law came into effect," spokesman for the court Thomas Vecsey told AFP.
"We don't have any elements to prove prior use. You could say they were lucky," he added.
SOURCE: Velonation