Germany Takes Aim at Doped Cyclists

The German Cycling Federation announced a tougher line against drug cheats, even though doping is not illegal under the country's laws, following a three-hour meeting here with German professional teams, sponsors and race organizers.

"Our goal is clear. We want to get rid of all those involved in doping," federation president Rudolf Scharping said. "We have had very intense discussions and we have all reached the same conclusions."

The summit on the eve of the Hamburg Cyclassics, Germany's only one-day ProTour event, comes in the wake of cycling's latest doping storm triggered by American Tour de France winner Floyd Landis failing a doping test.

Just before the race started on July 1, German winner of the 1997 Tour Jan Ullrich was suspended and later sacked by his T-Mobile team over his implication in Spain's high-profile doping investigation.

The key to tackling drug cheats was drawing up individual profiles on each rider to improve the effectiveness of testing, Scharping said.

"The federation will refuse to select cyclists for big championships if they have not submitted all the required information," he said.

A former government minister, Scharping said Germany should also consider drawing up legislation to counter doping in sport. But he added: "The framework for the fight against doping isn't the most important thing. What is important is that it is effective."