Switzerland coach Hondo sacked after doping confession

Switzerland coach Danilo Hondo has been sacked with immediate effect after the German said he was involved in blood doping, the Swiss Cycling Federation said in a statement on Sunday.

Danilo Hondo at his first race after serving a doping suspension from 1 April 2005 to 31 March 2006. Source: Getty

Hondo told German TV channel ARD he went through with blood manipulation in 2011 and “made the biggest mistake of my life”.

“As I am a national coach in Switzerland and am active with a lot of young riders, and I made a point in recent years of active anti-doping (campaigning), it was clear to me that if I was involved in this case I had to come clean in order to continue what I have been doing since the end of my active career as a pro in recent years,” he added.

The 45-year-old, who was a professional cyclist until 2014, had already served a two-year doping ban after failing a drugs test at the 2005 Tour of Murcia.

Hondo, who won two Giro d’Italia stages in 2001, was named head coach of the Switzerland team in 2017.