Austrian ex-pro cyclist to go on trial for supplying performance-enhancing drugs

In a week that has provided a stark reminder that the war against doping within cycling is far from won, with the revelation that BMC Racing’s Thomas Frei and Team RadioShack’s Li Fuyu had both tested positive for banned substances, an Austrian former professional cyclist is set to stand trial for supplying EPO and other performance enhancing drugs and faces the prospect of a prison term of up to five years if found guilty.

Cristof Kerschbaum, who last rode for Austrian team Radclub Wels, is the first athlete to stand trial since Austria made supplying doping products a criminal offence in 2008 as part of a range of tough measures designed to help eliminate drugs from sport, according to a report from Associated Press (AP) carried on the ESPN website.

The ex-rider was arrested last year, spending 11 days in custody, in relation to charges of supplying prohibited substances to other cyclists between 2004 and 2008.

AP said that according to prosecutor Gerhard Jarosch, no date has yet been set for Kerschbaum’s trial, and added that the pharmacist from Vienna from whom he obtained the substances has gone on trial this week.