Patrik Sinkewitz was offered a settlement by a civil court in a law suit against him for willful deceit and his monetary fine would be reduced from 100,000 euro to 80,000 euro, if Sinkewitz accepts. He has until March 9 to think about it. The former T-Mobile rider, who was caught for doping and served a one-year suspension, doesn’t have the means to pay the lump sum, but he was offered to use a deferred payment.
Förstina, a drink manufacturer, sued Sinkewitz because an advertising campaign had to be canceled when Sinkewitz tested positive for Testosterone after a training ride in June of 2007. The initial suit was for 300,000, but the court in Fulda ruled 11 months ago that the fine should be 100,000 euro. Now, a higher civil court used a slightly different calculation to reduce the fine by a fifth, but it is still a steep price to pay for someone with little income.
Sinkewitz was not present at the one hour court session. Christian Schmitt, lawyer for Förstina, said a deferred payment would be acceptable, according to rad-net.de. Sinkewitz’ lawyer, Axel Scheld von Alt, said they would have to discuss the settlement and if it is possible for Sinkewitz to come up with this amount.
Last season he was racing for PSK Whirlpool and won the Sachsen Tour in July. Sinkewitz received a reduced sentence of one year, because he offered himself as a principal witness. Cooperation with authorities in the fight against doping has led to some riders receiving reduced sentences.
The International Cycling Union has created the bio passport program in order to make it even tougher for the cheats. Unlike the doping controls, which can be manipulated, the bio passport program is intended to show irregularities in a rider’s blood profile. This gives a long term record that is harder to artificially manipulate.