Berlin  - Austrian cyclist Bernhard Kohl has denied claiming that half the field in cycling is using CERA, the third generation of the blood booster EPO.

Kohl, who has been banned for two years for doping, said via his lawyers that he had never accused other riders of using the drug.

According to a Wiener Zeitung report, Kohl said in his hearing with the Austrian anti-doping agency that the drug was discussed in detail by riders and some thought that "probably half the riders were underway with CERA."

However Kohl has made it clear this was a general observation of how it was seen in the peloton and not his own views, his lawyers said.

Kohl, who finished third at this summer's Tour de France, was on Monday banned for two years by the Austrian anti-doping agency after being one of several cyclists from the Tour tested positive for CERA. (dpa)