GERMAN STATE NETWORKS ARD AND ZDF, IN AN UNPRECEDENTED MOVE, PULLED THE PLUG ON TOUR DE FRANCE LIVE BROADCASTS ON WEDNESDAY IN THE WAKE OF THE LATEST POSITIVE DOPING TEST INVOLVING GERMAN RIDER PATRIK SINKEWITZ, ACCORDING TO DPA. ZDF EDITOR-IN-CHIEF NIKOLAUS BRENDER SAID THAT THE NETWORKS SHOWED THE GERMAN CYCLING TEAMS "A YELLOW CARD" AND WOULD NOT BROADCAST THE RACE WITH THE FAMOUS YELLOW JERSEY LEADER UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE. "YOU CAN'T WAIT UNTIL THE TOUR IS OVER. THAT'S IMPOSSIBLE. THE TOUR IS UNDER CONSTANT DOPING SUSPICION," SAID BRENDER. MEANWHILE, THE DIRECTOR OF RUNDFUNK BERLIN-BRANDENBURG (RBB) SAID THAT THERE COULD BE IMPLICATIONS FOR OTHER SPORTS AFTER THE DECISION TAKEN BY THE ARD AND ZDF. "THESE DECISIONS COULD ALSO FOLLOW SUIT FOR OTHER SPORTS. ONE CAN NOT REALLY IMAGINE THAT DOPING IS RESTRICTED TO CYCLING," DAGMAR REIM SAID. PETER KAADTMANN, THE ARD AND ZDF TEAM CHIEF AT THE TOUR, WAS QUOTED AS SAYING THAT "OUR CONTRACT STATED THAT WE BROADCAST THE TOUR AS A COMPETITION OF CLEAN RIDERS, NOT OF PEOPLE USING DOPING SUBSTANCES." INSTEAD OF BROADCASTING THE DAY'S 10TH STAGE, ARD RAN A FEATURE ON DOPING AND INTERVIEWED ALL PARTIES INVOLVED. THAT PROGRAMME WAS FOLLOWED BY A TELENOVELA. THE TWO NETWORKS ALSO TERMINATED THEIR INTERNET LIVE-TICKER. GERMANS WHO WANTED TO FOLLOW THE RACE HAD TO RESORT TO THE EUROSPORT NETWORK AND ITS GERMAN-LANGUAGE BROADCAST AFTER THE DECISION. DOPING HAS NEVER BEFORE PROMPTED GERMAN NETWORKS TO PULL THE PLUG ON A PLANNED BROADCAST. BUT ZDF DID NOT BROADCAST THE 1985 EUROPEAN CUP FINAL AFTER RIOTING LIVERPOOL FANS CAUSED THE DEATH OF 37 MAINLY JUVENTUS FANS AHEAD THE MATCH BETWEEN THE TWO SIDES IN BRUSSELS' HEYSEL STADIUM. ARD AND ZDF, WHO ARE FUNDED BY FEES FROM EVERY GERMAN WHO OWNS A TV SET, HAVE LONG HELD THE GERMAN TOUR DE FRANCE BROADCAST RIGHTS. NO FIGURES HAVE BEEN RELEASED BUT THEY ARE WORTH SEVERAL MILLION EUROS. THEY PLANNED TO BROADCAST A TOTAL 90 HOURS FROM THE TOUR WHICH ENDS ON JULY 29 IN PARIS. RATINGS SURGED WHEN JAN ULLRICH WON THE TOUR IN 1997 AND CAME SECOND SEVERAL TIMES AFTERWARDS, BUT THERE WERE ALWAYS CRITICAL VOICES OVER THE BIG ENGAGEMENT BECAUSE THE SPORT WAS DOPING-INFESTED. ARD WAS UNDER SPECIAL PRESSURE AS THE NETWORK WAS A SPONSOR OF THE TELEKOM TEAM, WHICH IS NOW CALLED T-MOBILE, FROM 1998 UNTIL 2004. THE NETWORKS HAVE BECOME CAUTIOUS IN THE PAST 12 MONTHS SINCE ULLRICH WAS HEAVILY IMPLICATED IN THE SPANISH DOPING PROBE CENTRING ON DOCTOR EUFEMIANO FUENTES. ULLRICH WAS KICKED OUT OF T-MOBILE ON THE EVE OF THE 2006 TOUR. IN RECENT WEEKS HALF A DOZEN FORMER RIDERS INCLUDING 1996 TOUR CHAMPION BJARNE RISS CONFESSED TO DOPING ON THE TEAM IN THE 1990S. TWO TEAM DOCTORS WERE KICKED OUT IN MAY AFTER ADMITTING TO HAVE BEEN ACTIVELY INVOLVED IN THAT DOPING SCHEME, T-MOBILE'S UKRAINIAN RIDER SERHIY HONCHAR WAS ALSO FIRED IN MAY OVER REPORTEDLY SUSPICIOUS TEST RESULTS, AND GERMAN RIDER MATTHIAS KESSLER FROM THE ASTANA TEAM WAS A FEW WEEKS AGO CAUGHT FOR TESTOSTERONE ABUSE. ARD AND ZDF TOLD GERMAN CYCLING TEAMS AHEAD OF THE TOUR THAT THEY COULD PULL THE PLUG IF ANOTHER RIDER WAS CAUGHT, AND SINKEWITZ' POSITIVE TEST FOR TESTOSTERONE WAS ANNOUNCED WEDNESDAY. SINKEWITZ WAS CAUGHT AT AN OUT-OF-COMPETITION TEST AHEAD OF THE TOUR, BUT RODE IN THE TOUR UNTIL WITHDRAWING INJURED ON MONDAY. "WE TALKED TO THE GERMAN TEAMS, TOLD THEM HOW SERIOUS THE SITUATION WAS. ESPECIALLY T-MOBILE SWORE THAT EVERYTHING WAS FINE WITH THEM," SAID ARD PROGRAMME DIRECTOR GUENTER STRUVE SAID. T-MOBILE HAVE INTRODUCED ONE OF THE STIFFEST ANTI-DOPING PROGRAMMES IN THE SPORT, BUT NOT EVEN THAT MAY HAVE STOPPED SINKEWITZ FROM TAMPERING. THE TV BOYCOTT COULD NOW ALSO PLAY A MAJOR ROLE IN SPONSOR COMMITMENTS IN CYCLING, WITH T-MOBILE COMPANY SPOKESMAN CHRISTIAN FROMMERT "NOT RULING OUT ANYTHING" WHEN THE TOUR IS ASSESSED. T-MOBILE ONLY RECENTLY COMMITTED ITSELF UNTIL 2010. FROMMERT ADMITTED THAT "THE STAKES ARE HIGH" AFTER THE MOVE BY THE NETWORKS, WHILE BRENDER SAID HE HOPED THAT WEDNESDAY'S MOVE WILL PROMPT THE TEAMS, AND CYCLING IN GENERAL, INTO MORE ACTION. "I HOPE WE HAVE DONE OUR SHARE IN THIS," SAID BRENDER.
