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Cycling-Hesjedal doped more than 10 years ago - 2012 Giro winnerReuters 5 hours ago



 Content preferences Done * Former Giro winner Hesjedal admits to previously doping

* Canadian says it was short-lived and over 10 years ago (Adds USADA reaction)

By Julien Pretot

PARIS, Oct 30 (Reuters) - Canadian Ryder Hesjedal, winner of the 2012 Giro d'Italia, became the latest rider to admit to a troubled past when he said on Wednesday he had doped "more than 10 years ago".

"I have loved and lived this sport but more than a decade ago I chose the wrong path," said the Garmin-Sharp rider in a statement.

"Even though those mistakes happened more than 10 years ago, and they were short-lived, it does not change the fact I made them and I have lived with that and been sorry for it ever since."

The statement came in response to allegations by Dane Michael Rasmussen who said earlier on Wednesday he taught Hesjedal how to take the banned blood-booster erythropoietin (EPO) in 2003.

Rasmussen was kicked out of his Rabobank team while was leading the Tour de France in 2007 for having lied about his whereabouts to doping authorities.

His claims were made in a book, from which extracts were published by Danish newspaper Politiken on Wednesday.

Rasmussen was at Rabobank in 2003 while Hesjedal, then a mountain bike rider, was in the Dutch outfit's development team.

"I believe that being truthful will help the sport continue to move forward, and over a year ago when I was contacted by anti-doping authorities, I was open and honest about my past," said Hesjedal.

The Canadian was one of several riders - past and present - and managers to be called on to testify by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) in the case against Lance Armstrong, who was stripped of his seven Tour de France titles for doping.