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Scandal claims German race

By Agence France Presse
Published: Oct. 14, 2008

The 2009 Tour of Stuttgart was canceled on Tuesday, with organizers of the six-day event saying recent failed doping tests have tarnished the sport's image in Germany.

"We have held intense discussions over the last few days and decided at the conclusion not to organize the 26th edition of the competition given the current situation in cycling," organizer Andreas Kroll told the German agency SID on Tuesday.

"Professional cycling has an enormous image problem at the moment which we can't currently change," added Kroll.

The race had been scheduled for January 15-20 in the south German city.

On Monday it was announced that Bernhard Kohl, the best climber at this year's Tour de France and third overall, tested positive for the latest generation of the banned blood booster EPO (erythropoietin), named CERA.

Kohl is the second Gerolsteiner rider, and the fourth from the Tour, to test positive. The others are teammate Stefan Schumacher and Italians Riccardo Ricco and Leonardo Piepoli.