Christian Pfannberger

Christian Pfannberger

Personal information
Full name	Christian Pfannberger
Born	December 9, 1979 (1979-12-09) (age 31) Judenburg, Austria
Team information
Current team	None
Discipline	Road
Role	Rider
Rider type	Classics specialist
Professional team(s)
2002 2003 2004 2006–2007 2008 2009	Nurnberger Versicherung Volksbank-Ideal eD'System-ZVVZ Elk Haus-Simplon Barloworld Team Katusha
Major wins
National Road Race Champion (2007, 2008)
Infobox last updated on April 23, 2008

Christian Pfannberger (born 9 December 1979) is an Austrian former professional road racing cyclist. He was a two-time Austrian national road-race champion (2007 and 2008). Other achievements included winning the U23 National Championship in 2001 and the Giro del Capo, a stage race in South Africa in 2008. In spring 2008 he had top 10 finishes in all three of the Ardennes classics.

Doping

Pfannberger served a two-year suspension between 2004 and 2006 for a positive testosterone test.^[1] In May 2009, he was suspended by Team Katusha pending clarification of a non-negative doping test at an out-of-competition control in March of that year.^[2] He had been on Katusha's preliminary start list for the 2009 Giro d'Italia, but he was suspended and replaced by Alexander Serov when news of the positive test broke.^[3]

On 29 June, it was announced that his B sample had also tested positive, and that he would face a hearing in the next eight weeks which could result in Pfannberger being suspended for a period ranging from eight years to a lifetime ban.^[1]

Pfannberger was subsequently handed a lifetime ban by the Austrian National Anti-Doping Agency for his second doping violation. He has consistently maintained that he has never doped, and will challenge the lifetime ban.^[4]

Major achievements

2001

(U23) National Road Race Champion

(U23) Thüringen-Rundfahrt & 1 stage

2006

3rd Overall, Österreich Rundfahrt

1st, Stage 3

2007

National Road Race Champion

2008 – Barloworld

1st, Overall, Giro del Capo

1st, Stage 1

6th, Amstel Gold Race

9th, La Flèche Wallonne

5th, Liège–Bastogne–Liège

National Road Race Champion

8th, 2008 UCI Road World Championships

2009

4th, GP Miguel Indurain

9th, Amstel Gold Race

References

1. ^ ^{a b} http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/pfannbergers-b-sample-positive-for-epo
2. ^ http://autobus.cyclingnews.com/news.php?id=news/2009/may09/may06news3
3. ^ http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/giro-hopeful-pfannberger-suspended-by-katusha
4. ^ http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/lifelong-ban-for-pfannberger-after-second-doping-violation

External links

• Profile at Barloworld official website
• Christian Pfannberger profile at Cycling Archives

Persondata
Name	Pfannberger, Christian
Alternative names
Short description	Road bicycle racer
Date of birth	1979-12-09
Place of birth	Judenburg, Austria
Date of death
Place of death