JULIEN PRETOT Paul Sinkewitz, the German rider, has been sacked by his team T-Mobile after he admitted taking the male sex hormone testosterone before the Tour de France, T-Mobile's sporting director, Ralf Aldag, said yesterday.

Sinkewitz had previously denied any wrongdoing but, in a statement issued by his lawyer yesterday, he said he was prepared to take the consequences for his "misdemeanours" and expressed his "deep regret".

He said that, on the day before his test, he had used a preparation called Testogel made by the firm Jenapharm which is meant to help people suffering from testosterone deficiency.

"It was a big mistake and showed a lack of responsibility to the team, my colleagues, the sponsor and the entire sport of cycling to use the Testogel," the statement said.

Sinkewitz said he was ready to cooperate with the German cycling federation (BDR) and hoped to help remove doping from cycling. "I am ready to take part in a new cycling after my ban," he said.

The 26-year-old was forced to retire from the Tour on July 16 after being involved in a crash with a spectator after the eighth stage. He broke his nose and suffered a shoulder injury in the accident.

Two days later, Germany's National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) told the BDR that a test on a first sample Sinkewitz gave in training on June 8 showed high levels of the hormone. "Even if this is a shock for us, it shows that our and NADA's testing regimes are effective and that training testing is important," Aldag said in statement posted on the team's website.

He added that the rider must now co-operate fully with the authorities: "Patrik must put everything on the table that helps to shed light on this."

Sinkewitz faces the prospect of a two-year suspension and being forced to repay a year's salary to T-Mobile.