Rumours had been circulating for several days about the positive doping case at the 2014 Austrian Mountain Championships (TOUR reported). It quickly became known that he was a top rider on the Austrian everyman scene. Today, the Austrian Cycling Federation announced on its Homepage announced the name: Emanuel Nösig tested positive. "Furosemide + anabolic androgenic steroid - testosterone" were detected in him, according to the ÖRV. When asked by TOUR last week, Nösig replied that he had only forgotten to specify a medication and that it was "not a performance-enhancing substance". After consulting with his lawyer, he did not want to answer TOUR's questions.
In the amateur scene, Nösig is a well-known podium candidate: in 2014 he came second in the Ötztaler Cycle Marathon, won the Eddy Merckx Classic and Engadiner Cycle Marathon, finished 5th in the Schwalbe TOUR Transalp 2014 and has won the Achensee Cycle Marathon, the Arlberg Giro, Amadé Cycle Marathon and other races in the past. At amateur level, Nösig won the 2014 Austrian national amateur championship in the individual time trial and became Austrian mountain champion.
In an interview on the website speed-ville.de he categorised himself as a semi-professional "I wouldn't say whether it's just a hobby for me and many others when you cycle between 15,000-20,000 km a year. Almost all of us have sponsors who finance our cycling, which is also a certain income." In retrospect, his quote about selfishness in the amateur scene sounds cynical: "Of course, there are riders who would walk over dead bodies in amateur sport. But there are very few of them."
