Patrik Sinkewitz is a German professional road racing cyclist, who is currently suspended from the sport until 2024 for doping and ineligibility offences. He was a climbing specialist who can ride well over a stage race, as in winning the 2004 nine-stage Deutschland Tour. He also rode well in one-day races such as Liège–Bastogne–Liège, where he finished in the top 10 in 2006. He did not perform well in his first major tour, finishing 59th in the 2005 Tour de France. The following year he finished 23rd and had good stage results. In February 2014 he was banned from competition for 8 years for a second anti-doping rule violation, having tested positive for testosterone in 2007 and recombinant human growth hormone in 2011.
Sinkewitz in 2006
Patrik Sinkewitz receives the leader's jersey at Stage 1 of the 2006 3-Länder-Tour in Kassel.
The Deutschland Tour is the most important multi-stage road bicycle race in Germany. Initially the race was held in May/June, but from 2005 until 2008 it was moved to August as part of the UCI ProTour. On October 16, 2008, the organizers announced that the 2009 edition would be cancelled, following the doping cases that were revealed in the sport of cycling. Marketing chiefs said they were unable to finance the nine-day race due to a lack of interested sponsors after the latest revelations of cyclists testing positive for the blood-booster CERA. A revival for 2017 was announced on 8 March 2016. In 2018, the A.S.O. revived the Deutschland Tour and included a 4-stage-race into a cycling festival. From 23 August to 26 August 2018, the Deutschland Tour took place in the South-Western region of Germany.
Jens Voigt (pictured at the 2006 Deutschland Tour) is the only rider with two Deutschland Tour wins.
Matej Mohorič won the 2018 edition.