Following news earlier today that the Australian rider Deon Michael Locke had tested positive for the amphetamine and appetite suppressant Phentermine when he won the fourth stage of the Tour of Hainan, his Champion System team has reacted strongly.
The squad has said that he won’t contest the A sample finding, and that he has now been suspended. His firing from the team appears to be simply a matter of time.
“Mr. Locke, who rode for the Taifun Sports team in 2010 & 2011 has admitted his complicity to management and has taken full responsibility for his actions,” stated Champion System management. “We have been advised that he will inform the UCI and will not request an analysis of his B sample and will accept whatever sanctions are levied.”
According to Markus Kammerman, who is the director of the Taifun Sports Group which manages the team, the rider was acting on his own. “We were not aware of Deon’s actions prior to this doping announcement and we are extremely disappointed in his apparently irresponsible and selfish actions,” he said.
“We have informed Deon that he has been immediately suspended without pay and his contract will be terminated in accordance with our zero tolerance anti-doping policy”
Locke finished five seconds ahead of Haijun Ma on the stage he won. He joined the team in 2010 and picked up several decent results on the Asian calendar, including third on a stage and third overall in the Tour of Thailand, and also seventh in the Tour of South China Sea.
A Champion System-sponsored team will compete in 2012, and has signed Craig Lewis (HTC Highroad) and Chris Butler (BMC Racing Team) as well as Will Clarke (Leopard-Trek). While there some riders from this year’s squad will feature, general manager Ed Beamon stresses that the 2012 setup is a different entity.
“The 2012 project is completely different,” he told VeloNation. “I am managing the team through the management company Champion System Sport Limited and the team will be a Chinese team. There are some riders from the 2011 team on our roster and they are on the roster because of their ability and quality…not because there is any extension of the old program. Deon Locke was not scheduled to be one of them.
“Champion System is working closely with CS Sport in developing the infrastructure and building our network in Asia, but they were simply a sponsor of the 2011 team. This is an entirely new program with a completely different agenda and mission from the 2011 program.”