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Thursday, February 19, 2009 UCI suspends Schumacher by VeloNation Press at 9:29 AM EST   comments Categories: Pro Cycling, Doping   The Union Cycliste Internationionale (UCI) has decided to take action against German Stefan Schumacher for his positive doping test from last years Tour de France. Schumacher, along with teammate Bernhard Kohl, tested positive in a retroactive test of blood samples taken during the 2008 Tour de France. The addtional tests on their blood samples were made after a test for CERA, a new form of EPO, was made available for use by the French Anti-Doping Agency. Because of the circumstances with attaining the positive results, the UCI has not acted on the situation until now. Also caught using CERA in the retroactive tests were Italian teammates Riccardo Ricco and Leonardo Piepoli. Together the four riders can claim a good bit of responsibility for companies withdrawing their cycling sponsorships. Schumacher is the only rider of the four that continues to maintain his innocence. The UCI's delay in his suspension has caused problems for Patrick Lefevere's Quick-Step team as they had signed the rider for the 2009 season. Lefevere had threatened to file suit against the UCI if they continued to delay sanctions against the German.       comments Follow @Pro_Cycling Tweet Subscribe via RSS or daily email Contact the editor about this article Related Articles Stefan Schumacher wants to return to the Tour de France Vuelta Asturias: Schumacher loses lead to stage winner Moreno Schumacher escapes criminal prosecution Stefan Schumacher motivated for new season Schumacher rejects fraud allegations, says he simply wants to focus on continuing his career Kohl’s manager Matschiner sentenced to 15 months but escapes prison term Stefan Schumacher's comeback runs into a setback