Patrik Sinkewitz (born 20 October 1980) is a German professional

road racing cyclist 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 comm ...

, who is currently suspended from the sport until 2024 for doping and ineligibility offences. He was a

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 ...

who can ride well over a

stage race A race stage, leg, or heat is a unit of a racing, race that has been divided in several parts for the reason such as length of the distance to be covered, as in a multi-day race, multi-day event. Usually, such a race consists of "ordinary" stages ...

, as in winning the 2004 nine-

stage Stage, stages, or staging may refer to: Arts and media Acting * Stage (theatre), a space for the performance of theatrical productions * Theatre, a branch of the performing arts, often referred to as "the stage" * ''The Stage'', a weekly Brit ...

Deutschland Tour The Deutschland Tour (English: ''Tour of Germany'' and sometimes ''Deutschland-Rundfahrt'' in German) is the most important Race stage, multi-stage road bicycle racing, road bicycle race in Germany. Initially the race was held in May/June, but fro ...

. He also rode well in one-day races such as

Liège–Bastogne–Liège Liège–Bastogne–Liège , also known as ''La Doyenne'' ("The Old Lady"), is a one-day classic cycling race in Belgium.Cycling Weekly, UK, 13 March 1993 First run in 1892, it is the oldest of the five ''Cycling monument, Monuments'' of the Eur ...

, where he finished in the top 10 in

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

. He did not perform well in his first major tour, finishing 59th in the

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

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 ...

. The following year he finished 23rd and had good stage results. In February 2014 he was banned from competition for 8 years for a second anti-doping rule violation, having tested positive for testosterone in 2007 and recombinant human growth hormone in 2011.

Biography

Born in

Fulda Fulda () (historically in English called Fuld) is a city in Hesse, Germany; it is located on the river Fulda and is the administrative seat of the Fulda district (''Kreis''). In 1990, the city hosted the 30th Hessentag state festival. Histor ...

, Sinkewitz started his amateur career with and turned professional in 2003 with . Following 2005 he moved to where he had a good early season. He came fourth in the

Vuelta al País Vasco The Tour of the Basque Country (Officially: ''Itzulia Basque Country'') is an annual road cycling stage race held in the Spanish Basque Country in April. It is one of the races that make up the UCI World Tour calendar. As the Basque Country is ...

and twice finished stages in the first five. Then he finished fifth in the

Amstel Gold Race Amstel Gold Race may refer to: * Amstel Gold Race (men's race) The Amstel Gold Race is a one-day classic cycle races, classic road bicycle race, road cycling race held annually since 1966 Amstel Gold Race, 1966 in the province of Limburg (Netherl ...

, fifth in the

Flèche Wallonne Flèche or Fleche may refer to: *Flèche (architecture), a type of church spire * Flèche (cycling), a team cycling competition *Flèche (fencing) The flèche is an aggressive attacking technique in fencing, used with foil and épée. Backgr ...

and fourth in

. Sinkewitz did not start stage nine of the 2007 Tour de France after colliding with a spectator the previous day.

Doping

On 18 July 2007, his blood tested positive for

testosterone Testosterone is the primary male sex hormone and androgen in Male, males. In humans, testosterone plays a key role in the development of Male reproductive system, male reproductive tissues such as testicles and prostate, as well as promoting se ...

and he was suspended by his team. On 31 July 2007, Sinkewitz was fired by T-Mobile after he declined to have his "B" or second blood sample tested. He admitted using Testogel, a testosterone ointment. On 3 November, he admitted using EPO and blood transfusions. Sinkewitz was banned for one year, until 17 July 2008. In 2009, Sinkewitz joined the Czech-based team PSK Whirlpool. He went on to ride for Team ISD for the 2010 and 2011 seasons. On 18 March 2011 the

Union Cycliste Internationale The Union Cycliste Internationale (; UCI; ) is the world governing body for sports cycling and oversees international competitive cycling events. The UCI is based in Aigle, Switzerland. The UCI issues racing licenses to riders and enforces di ...

(UCI) announced that Sinkewitz had tested positive for recombinant Human Growth Hormone in a blood sample taken during the GP di Lugano earlier in the year. He was provisionally suspended by the UCI, and a B-sample was analysed a month later, also testing positive for HGH. Sinkewitz appealed to the German Institution of Arbitration which ruled that the calculation of the sample analysis was "not sufficiently documented and therefore the ADRV nti-Doping Rule Violationnot validly proven," thus clearing Sinkewitz of the ADRV and allowing him to apply for a new license. The German anti-doping agency appealed to the

Court of Arbitration for Sport The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS; , TAS) is an international body established in 1984 to settle disputes related to sport through arbitration. Its headquarters are in Lausanne, Switzerland, and its courts are located in New York City, Sy ...

(CAS), who in February 2014 found Sinkewitz "guilty of an Anti-Doping Rule Violation in the form of the presence of recombinant hGH in his body specimen", banning him for 8 years, imposing a €38,500 fine, and disqualifying all his results from the 2011 GP di Lugano. Later confirmed in the evidence of the USADA report in 2012, as well as by

University of Freiburg The University of Freiburg (colloquially ), officially the Albert Ludwig University of Freiburg (), is a public university, public research university located in Freiburg im Breisgau, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The university was founded in 1 ...

doctors, to have done blood transfusions during the

2006 Tour de France The 2006 Tour de France was the 93rd edition of the Tour de France, one of cycling's Grand Tour (cycling), Grand Tours. It took place between the 1st and the 23rd of July. It was won by Óscar Pereiro following the disqualification of Floyd Land ...

alongside some of his teammates on the

T-Mobile Team T-Mobile is the brand of telecommunications by Deutsche Telekom. T-Mobile may also refer to: Deutsche Telekom's current and former subsidiaries * T-Mobile US, an American wireless network operator known simply as "T-Mobile" * T-Mobile Polska, a Po ...

Major results

;2002 : 1st GP Winterthur ;2004 : 1st Overall

::1st Stage 3 : 1st

Japan Cup The is one of the most prestigious horse races in Japan. It is contested on the last Sunday of November, post time of 15:40 at Tokyo Racecourse in Fuchu, Tokyo at a distance of 2400 meters (about miles) run under weight for age conditions with ...

;2006 : 2nd Overall

3-Länder-Tour The 3-Länder-Tour der Sparkassen Versicherung was a multi-stage road bicycle race held around three Länder of Germany: Hessen, Thuringia and Baden-Württemberg. From 2005 until 2007 it was part of the UCI Europe Tour, being organised as a 2.1 ...

::1st Stage 1 ;2007 : 1st

Rund um den Henninger Turm Rund is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Cathleen Rund (born 1977), German swimmer * Hanno Rund (1925–1993), German mathematician * Thorsten Rund (born 1976), German road and track cyclist See also * Rand (surname) * Ruud R ...

;2009 : 1st Overall

Sachsen-Tour The Sachsen Tour was a multi-stage road bicycle race held in the region of Saxony, Germany. It was first held in 1985 and wasorganised as a 2.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour from 2005 until its final edition in 2009. Between 1985 and 1995 it was an ...

::1st Stage 3 : 8th Overall

Tour of Portugal The Volta a Portugal (), also known as Volta a Portugal em Bicicleta (), is an annual multi-stage road bicycle racing competition held in Portugal. The competition takes place during a two-week span. History The competition started in 1927, alth ...

::1st Stage 4 ;2010 : 1st

Giro di Romagna The Giro della Romagna is a semi classic European bicycle race held in the Italian region of Romagna. After 2005, the race was organised as a 1.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour. The race was discontinued in 2011, and in 2013, it merged with the M ...

;2013 : 1st Jersey yellow

Overall

Settimana Ciclistica Lombarda The Settimana Ciclistica Lombarda () was an Italian cycle road race. In 2007, the race was organised as a 2.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour The UCI Continental Circuits are a series of road bicycle racing competitions which were introduced in 2 ...

::1st

Points classification ::1st Jersey green

Mountains classification ::1st Stages 1 & 2 : 1st Mountains classification

Tour de Slovaquie Okolo Slovenska (; ) is an annual road cycling stage race in Slovakia. Founded in 1954, since 2017 it has been rated as a 2.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour. It is a stage race that usually includes five or more stages. History Okolo Slovenska ...

: 2nd

GP Industria & Artigianato di Larciano The GP Industria & Artigianato di Larciano is a road bicycle race held annually in Larciano, Italy. After 2005, the race was organised as a 1.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour. In 2020, the race joined the UCI ProSeries The UCI ProSeries is the ...

: 3rd Overall

Istrian Spring Trophy The Istrian Spring Tour, formerly known as the Istrian Spring Trophy (), is a multi-day road bicycle race held annually in the Croatian part of the Istria peninsula. The race was first organized in 1961 as a small competition reserved to local cy ...

::1st Stage 2 : 3rd Overall

Tour of Slovenia Tour of Slovenia (Dirka po Sloveniji) is a five day road bicycle racing, road cycling stage race held since 1993. Between 2005 and 2018, it was organised as a 2.1 race on the UCI Europe Tour. The 2019 edition was classified as a 2.HC race. It b ...

: 3rd Raiffeisen Grand Prix : 4th

Banja Luka–Beograd Banja can refer to: * Banja (woreda), an administrative division of the Amhara Region, Ethiopia * Banja, Aranđelovac, a village in Šumadija District, Serbia * Banja (Priboj), a village in Zlatibor District, Serbia * , a village near Vrgorac, Cro ...

II : 6th

Gran Premio della Costa Etruschi The Gran Premio Costa degli Etruschi is a one-day professional cycling race between the towns of San Vincenzo and Donoratico on the Tuscany coast in Italy. The 193 kilometre long race takes place at the beginning of February and has now taken ov ...

;2014 : 2nd

Trofeo Laigueglia The Trofeo Laigueglia is an early season road bicycle race held annually in Liguria, Italy. It is held about ten days after the opening to the Italian season, the Gran Premio della Costa Etruschi. From 2005 to 2014, the race was organised as a ...

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sinkewitz, Patrik 1980 births Living people German male cyclists Doping cases in cycling Sportspeople from Fulda German sportspeople in doping cases Cyclists from Hesse 21st-century German sportsmen