Hamburg - Former officials of the now defunct Gerolsteiner cycling team said on Wednesday that Austrian rider Bernhard Kohl showed no indication of using forbidden doping substances.

Then team boss Hans-Michael Holczer said that Kohl was "not even suspicious" until he was found to have used the third generation of the blood booster EPO, known as CERA, at the 2008 Tour de France.

Kohl was caught using the substance in October when retests of the Tour samples where carried out. On Tuesday, he told a news conference that he used forbidden substances and methods since 2005.

Kohl originally came third at the 2008 Tour before being disqualified over the positive test. He joined Gerolsteiner in 2007 from the former T-Mobile team.

Holczer said after talking to Kohl by phone that the latest revelations only supported his fear that doping could not be controlled. He also said that Kohl said he didn't use illegal blood transfusions during the 2008 Tour.

Former Gerolsteiner top official Christian Henn named Kohl's revelations "shocking" and also said that he was totally unaware of Kohl's doping scheme.

Rolf Aldag echoed these statements as former T-Mobile team-mate of Kohl.

Aldag also pleaded for fair treatment of the battered sport of cycling, saying that the Austrian case centring on Kohl's former manager Stefan Matschiner, a doctor, a blood bank and other athletes appeared to transcend the sport.

"The problem is much broader than simply hitting out at cycling. I call for a fair clearing up," said Aldag. (dpa)