Stefan Schumacher was banned from French competition two years for doping. He will appeal the decision. (Joel Saget/AFP/Getty Images)German cyclist Stefan Schumacher's lawyer said Thursday that the rider has been handed a two-year ban from races in France by the country's anti-doping agency.
The ban was imposed on Wednesday by a commission of the agency, known by its French acronym AFLD, lawyer Michael Lehner said in a statement on the cyclist's website.
In France, calls to AFLD head Pierre Bordry went unanswered. His office said the agency had no statement to make.
Officials have said traces of the advanced blood-booster CERA were found in the samples of four riders, including Schumacher, when the anti-doping agency retested blood samples from shortly before and during last year's Tour de France.
Schumacher has questioned that finding.
"The AFLD's decision is a shock for me and leaves me stunned," he said in a statement Thursday, complaining that the proceedings were "a farce."
"I have not doped," he said.
Schumacher said he intends to continue cycling and added: "I will not give up and will fight for my rights up to the last instance."
The cyclist said he asked his lawyers to file an appeal with the Conseil d'Etat, France's highest court for issues involving public administration.
Lehner said the suspension applies to all races in France organized or authorized by that country's cycling federation.
Schumacher was suspended by Team Gerolsteiner after the positive result became known in September, and Schumacher's intended new team, Quick Step, dropped him, too. Gerolsteiner has since folded.
