Michael Boogerd has been suspended for two years with immediate effect. The former Rabobank rider admitted to doping in March 2013, almost three years ago. His team Roompot Orange Peloton has been forced to sack him.

The news about the suspension of Boogerd comes out of nowhere. He confessed in March 2013 but it looked like he would never be sanctioned - until today. The former classics specialist will not launch an appeal.

"Because I have taken the responsibility and accepted the consequences of my past decisions since my voluntary confession on March 6, 2013. I was and am always only willing to tell my own story and not say anything about other riders or coaches," he says in a press release.

Roompot Orange Peloton is unhappy about the UCI's behaviour in the case. In a press release, the team states that "in our view, the conduct and duration of the procedure has not contributed to a proper handling of this matter." 

Michael Zijlaard adds: "As co-initiator of our project, Michael of great value in guiding young Dutch riders so they were able to make their dream come true. That remains the basic principle of our team. In the past year as a team leader at Roompot Orange Peloton he has put much efforts into teaching these talent what it takes to be a professional in these times which are luckily much better. His negative past experiences have just been a motivation to make our riders experience their sport with passion and conviction."

Roompot stressed that it hopes to again use Boogerd's knowledge and love for cycling in the future.

The suspension means that Boogerd is not allowed to have an active role in any sport for two years. Moreover, he is stripped of all of his results from 2005 to 2007. They are mainly places of honor in classics, three top 25 results in the Tour de France and his Dutch title in 2006 where he animated the finale with Sebastian Langeveld. The youngster had to led Boogerd go in a memorable race. Asthese results have been taken away from him retroactively, this suggests that Boogerd's criminal case was decided in 2015 since the statue of limitations was last year increased from eight to ten years.

At the end of the 2014 season, the Belgian Federation decided to stop the case. Boogerd spent the last years of his active career in Belgium and had a license from that country. "If they will suspend me now, I will go to court," he said then. Boogerd encountered problems at that time because he wanted to be a team leader at Roompot Orange Peloton. "It's very simple to me. There is a rule, and I have violated it. And I have made an honest confession. I have done everything to get my punishment. But they have only reacted when I wanted to be team leader so... That case won't have a chance in a civil court."