T- Mobile sponsor stays in cycling

LONDON, England (Reuters) -- Team T-Mobile said on Thursday that its sponsor Deutsche Telekom had decided to continue its involvement in cycling despite a slew of doping cases in the sport.

Spokesman Christian Frommert said at a news conference in Saarbruecken the Deutsche Telekom management board had decided on Tuesday evening it would honor a contract with the T-Mobile team which runs until 2010.

Frommert said Telekom was committed to helping the sport earn back trust after a very difficult time.

"We want to continue our involvement in cycling and support it in the fight to create a clean sport," he said.

Deutsche Telekom had come under increasing pressure to reconsider its sponsorship of T-Mobile amid concern doping scandals could tarnish the company's image.

T-Mobile rider Patrik Sinkewitz was fired last month after testing positive for elevated levels of testosterone. He said he had used a gel containing the male sex hormone.

Former riders from Team Telekom -- the predecessor to T-Mobile -- Erik Zabel, Rolf Aldag and 1996 Tour de France winner Bjarne Riis, have admitted using illegal performance-enhancing substances.

T-Mobile said on Thursday it had agreed with riders and management that they would each contribute a portion of their salary towards a fund to be worth 1 million euros ($1.4 million) to help in the fight against doping.

Testing rules would be tightened and the team would cooperate with the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and Germany's national agency, NADA, it added.

Kazakh rider Andrey Kashechkin's positive test for blood doping has put the Astana Cycling Team's presence in next month's Tour of Spain under threat, Vuelta organizers have indicated.

Kashechkin, who was suspended by Astana on Wednesday, failed a test on Aug. 1. He was the Swiss team's second rider to test positive in less than a month.

"We have spoken with the team's directors and they have said they will take measures," Tour of Spain director general Victor Cordero was quoted as saying in the Spanish media on Thursday.

"We have agreed to analyze the situation and will take a decision on Monday on whether the team will be joining the race, which at the moment looks unlikely."

Spanish rider Alejandro Valverde has withdrawn from the race, his team said on Thursday.

In a statement Caisse D'Epargne said Valverde would be focusing his efforts instead on the world cycling championships due to take place in Stuttgart on Sept. 30.

The 27-year-old, who finished sixth overall in last month's Tour de France, had been one of the pre-race favorites.

The Tour of Spain takes place between Sept. 1-23 and starts in Vigo. E-mail to a friend

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