Voigt: no idea about doping – “inner circle”

The mecklenburg resident, who lives in berlin, spoke of "inner circles" in which there had obviously been talk of doping. He had "never heard of this," voigt told the dpa news agency, contradicting ex-professional cyclist tyler hamilton. The american had at least accused the 41-year-old of complicity.

Even the doping expert jorg jaksche does not believe voigt’s protestations of innocence. Both rode together on the CSC team in 2004 under controversial danish sporting director bjarne riis. "I can’t believe anyone at CSC who hasn’t noticed that other riders – including me – have doped," jaksche told the "suddeutsche zeitung" newspaper. The accusations are "groundless," voigt told the TV station "sky sport news HD" and asked rhetorically: "should I repeat 15,000 times that I have not doped and that I will not dope??"

His former teammate jaksche pointed out that voigt was "always employed by the teams with the most dubious athletic directors". Voigt rode under the direction of riis from 2004 to 2010, after which he switched to the now deposed armstrong mentor johan bruyneel. There he extended in august once again until 2013. In the coming year, the inconceivable one wants to celebrate his 16th birthday. Contesting the tour.

The former belgian team boss, along with armstrong, is alleged to have been the head of the doping system installed in various teams, according to the findings of the u.S. Anti-doping agency USADA. Bruyneel faces a lifetime ban, like the one armstrong has already received in addition to the disqualification of his seven tour victories. Whether riis, whom hamilton accused of knowing "everything about doping" in his team, will now also fall, is something that voigt says he "cannot judge.

According to hamilton, there had been systematic doping at the riis team CSC under the direction of the danish tour winner of 1997. This was vehemently contradicted by voigt and hamilton’s former team colleague jakob piil. Danish ex-professional had ridden "clean" at riis in 2002 and 2003. Hamilton luge, piil told danish newspaper "ekstrabladet.

Hamilton, a key witness against armstrong in the 1000-page USADA dossier, had stated that he "absolutely" believed that voigt had doped himself. But he had no direct evidence. In addition to massive accusations against riis, he had voigt on monday in the danish newspaper "B.T."Accused of stabbing ex-colleagues like him in the back in the attempt to clear up doping. "He spits in my face with it," hamilton had complained about voigt.

"You had to have been walking around with blinders on if you never heard or saw anything in a career spanning 15 years. He talks a lot and "knows everyone in the field and there was talk about doping," explained hamilton, who confessed to his own doping after years of denial and recently published an uproarious "tell-all" book titled "the secret race. Hamilton’s 2004 olympic time trial victory in athens was disallowed in london in august.

Voigt reiterated he never doped or had anything directly to do with it on his teams. "If hamilton reports quasi-common talk among drivers about doping, there must have been inner circles in the teams where this was discussed. I never belonged to it," voigt explained and emphasized that he had "never ridden together with hamilton" in a team. Hamilton moved to phonak in switzerland in 2003. One year later voigt stieb to the danish formation.

Voigt always used coarse words when he publicly condemned former teammates and "friends" for doping. "He should be burned at the stake," voigt had said about his former team-mate ivan basso, when the italian’s connections to the doping doctor eufemiano fuentes became known in 2006.

In his view, voigt’s theory of his own white vest is supported by the fact that he is almost the only well-known german professional of the generation of jan ullrich, erik zabel, jorg jaksche, andreas kloden or danilo hondo who has never been involved in a doping case.