Hamburg - A senior German cycling official on Tuesday filed a lawsuit against an alleged former team official who accused him of supporting doping while a manager on the same team. Udo Sprenger, a German cycling federation (BDR) vice-president, said the allegations made by the man in a television report broadcast by the ARD network late Monday were lies.
The man, whose identity was withheld, said he witnessed doping while working at the former Nuremberg team. He claimed the use of forbidden substances was supported by Sprenger in his function as team leader, with secret funds used for the scheme.
Sprenger insisted Tuesday that the "ARD information is false," but the network said that the man's statements were confirmed by other witnesses.
The allegations came just one month after a series of doping confessions from former riders of the German Telekom team, including sprinter Erik Zabel and Denmark's Bjarne Riis, who said he used forbidden drugs when he won the Tour de France.
Several German riders led by former Tour winner Jan Ullrich are also among those implicated in a Spanish probe centring on doctor Eufemiano Fuentes.
