Bernhard Kohl (born 4 January 1982) is an Austrian former professional

road bicycle racer Road bicycle racing is the cycle sport discipline of road cycling, held primarily on paved roads. Road racing is the most popular professional form of bicycle racing, in terms of numbers of competitors, events and spectators. The two most com ...

and recognized

climbing specialist A climbing specialist or climber, also known as a grimpeur, is a road bicycle racer who can ride especially well on highly inclined roads, such as those found among hills or mountains. Role of climber in a race In a sustained climb, the average ...

. After the Gerolsteiner team announced they would not be in existence for the 2009 season, Kohl signed with

UCI ProTeam UCI most commonly refers to: * University of California, Irvine, a public university in Irvine, California, United States * Union Cycliste Internationale, the world governing body for the sport of cycling UCI may also refer to: * Uganda Cancer In ...

for three years. His biggest career achievements include becoming the Austrian national road race champion in 2006, finishing third place overall in the Dauphiné Libéré and winning the

mountains classification The King of the Mountains (KoM) is an award given to the best climbing specialist in a men's cycling road race; in women's cycle racing, Queen of the Mountains (QoM) is used. While the title may be given to the rider who achieves the highest p ...

in the

2008 Tour de France The 2008 Tour de France was the 95th running of Tour de France, the race. The event took place from 5 to 27 July. Starting in the French city of Brest, France, Brest, the tour entered Italy on the 15th stage and returned to France during the 16t ...

. He was 73 seconds behind winner Carlos Sastre at the completion of the event, finishing in third place in the

General classification The general classification (or the GC) in road bicycle racing is the category that tracks overall times for riders in multi-stage races. Each stage will have a stage winner, but the overall winner in the GC is the rider who has the fastest cumulati ...

. He was banned from the sport for two years after testing positive for performance-enhancing drugs in October 2008. On 25 May 2009, he announced his retirement from the sport, claiming that it is "impossible to win without doping" in international cycling. upleft, Bernhard Kohl wears the Mountains classification in the Tour de France, polka dot jersey of the

Tour de France The Tour de France () is an annual men's multiple-stage cycle sport, bicycle race held primarily in France. It is the oldest and most prestigious of the three Grand Tour (cycling), Grand Tours, which include the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a ...

at the city centre criterium in

Wels Wels (; Central Bavarian: ''Wös'') is a city in Upper Austria, on the Traun River near Linz. It is the county seat of Wels-Land, and with a population of approximately 60,000, the List of cities and towns in Austria, eighth largest city in Aus ...

(Austria) on 30 July 2008

Doping

On 13 October 2008, ''L'Équipe'' announced that Kohl had tested positive for CERA ( continuous erythropoitin receptor activator, a third-generation variant of

erythropoietin Erythropoietin (; EPO), also known as erythropoetin, haematopoietin, or haemopoietin, is a glycoprotein cytokine secreted mainly by the kidneys in response to cellular hypoxia; it stimulates red blood cell production ( erythropoiesis) in th ...

, aka EPO) used during the Tour de France. On the 15th he admitted his drug use. His results were removed, but his third-place finish in the 2008 Tour and his first place in the

have not been remade. If they ever are

Denis Menchov Denis Nikolayevich Menshov (often mistakenly romanized as Menchov, ; born 25 January 1978) is a former professional Russian road bicycle racer, who rode as a professional between 2000 and 2013. He was best known as a general classification rider ...

of would become the third-place finisher, while Carlos Sastre of , overall winner of the Tour, would become winner of the

. The next day, Silence–Lotto terminated Kohl's contract with the team. Several journalists had also nominated Kohl to receive the

Austrian Sportspersonality of the year The Austrian Sports Personality of the Year () is chosen annually since 1949. Recordholders are Annemarie Moser-Pröll (seven awards) and Marcel Hirscher (six awards). In 1978 and 1979 the Austria national football team was named Austrian Sports Te ...

award, but he was removed from the contenders list. On 24 November 2008, Kohl was banned for two years by the Austrian anti-doping agency (NADA). His ex-manager, Stefan Matschiner, was arrested on 31 March 2009 in Austria and charged with selling doping substances. Kohl stated that he was "not surprised" by the arrest. In an exclusive interview with ''L'Équipe'', the Austrian detailed how he "prepared" himself for the 2008 Tour and received blood transfusions from his manager during the event. The International Cycling Union 's (UCI) biological passport failed to prevent Kohl from practicing blood doping on a regular basis during his career, he said. "The top riders are so professional in their doping that they know very well they have to keep their blood values stable not to be detected". Kohl's results for the 2008 Tour de France have been removed in the official Tour de France results, but the definitive classification has not been published yet.

Major results

;2000 : 3rd Overall Internationale Niedersachsen-Rundfahrt der Junioren : 8th Overall Internationale Oberösterreich Rundfahrt Junioren ;2002 : 1st MaillotAustria

Road race, National Under-23 Road Championships : 1st Rund um den Henninger Turm Under-23 : 4th Road race, National Road Championships : 6th Overall Grand Prix Guillaume Tell : 7th Overall Uniqa Classic ;2003 : 2nd Road race, National Under-23 Road Championships : 2nd Overall Thüringen Rundfahrt : 5th Road race, National Road Championships : 5th Overall Triptyque Ardennais : 10th Liège–Bastogne–Liège Espoirs ;2004 : 1st Jersey yellow

Overall

Tour des Pyrénées The Tour des Pyrénées was a road bicycle race held annually from 1995 to 2010 across the Pyrenees mountains in southwestern France and northeastern Spain. In 2006 it became a 2.2 event on the UCI Europe Tour. Winners References ...

: 4th

Circuit de Wallonie Circuit de Wallonie is a cycling race held annually in Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherla ...

;2005 : 7th Overall

Tour of Austria The Tour of Austria () is a stage race, stage cycling race held in Austria. From 1949 to 1995 it was a race for amateur cyclists, turning into a professional event in 1996. In 2005 and 2006 it was organised as a 2.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour ...

;2006 : 1st MaillotAustria

Road race, National Road Championships : 3rd Overall Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré : 5th Overall

;2008 : 3rd Overall
Tour de France The Tour de France () is an annual men's multiple-stage cycle sport, bicycle race held primarily in France. It is the oldest and most prestigious of the three Grand Tour (cycling), Grand Tours, which include the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a ...
::1st
Mountains classification The King of the Mountains (KoM) is an award given to the best climbing specialist in a men's cycling road race; in women's cycle racing, Queen of the Mountains (QoM) is used. While the title may be given to the rider who achieves the highest p ...
: 6th Overall

Bayern Rundfahrt The International Bayern Rundfahrt () was a stage race cycling race held each year in Bavaria, Germany, between 1980 and 2015. The race was held as an amateur race between 1980 and 1988, and from 2005 to 2015, the race was organised as a 2.HC even ...

Grand Tour general classification results timeline

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kohl, Bernhard Austrian male cyclists Austrian sportspeople in doping cases Doping cases in cycling Living people Cyclists from Vienna 1982 births