The lawyer of disgraced German rider Stefan Schumacher is confident that his client will win his appeal tomorrow when the Court for Arbitration in Sport, CAS, hears the case relating to his positive test for CERA.
"We are 100% right," said his lawyer Michael Lehner, according to Feltet.dk. He claims that the AFLD test for CERA was not sufficiently developed at the time. "It will be one of our key arguments," he stated. "They have quite simply shot too early.”
The top French appeal court, the Conseil d'Etat, ruled against Schumacher a week ago and this confirmed the worldwide ban he has been given by the UCI.
Three judges will hear the case; the AFLD have nominated the chairman, Bernard Foucher, while Schumacher will be represented by a German lawyer from the University of Zurich, who specializes in sports law. The third, neutral judge is a Swiss lawyer. Both sides will try to convince him of their arguments.
Schumacher tested positive for CERA during the 2008 Tour de France, where he won the two long time trials. He also failed a test for the third generation EPO substance at the Olympic Games. Tomorrow’s appeal does not pertain to that so even if he wins in CAS, he may still face a long ban.