Rabobank has suspended Rory Sutherland, who is a member of the Australian team competing at next week's world road cycling championships in Madrid, over a failed drug test.

In a statement Sunday Rabobank announced that Sutherland had tested positive for a banned substance in a control taken during last month's Tour of Germany.

"The rider has asked for a B test, and while we don't know what the results of the second test are neither Sutherland or the team will be saying anymore," Rabobank insisted.

The Dutch team's statement added that the substance concerned had nothing to do with the performance enhancer EPO or a blood transfusion.

The 23-year-old Sutherland was picked last week for the Australia team featuring Robbie McEwen, Baden Cooke, Allan Davis, Cadel Evans, Matthew Hayman, Brad McGhee, Michael Rogers and Henk Vogels.

Pevenage to lead T-Mobile
Rudy Pevenage, the mentor of Jan Ullrich, will return to the German cycling team T-Mobile as sporting director in January 2006, according to a report in Bild am Sonntag.

The 54-year-old Belgian is due to replace team boss Walter Godefroot, who retires in December, and help Ullrich prepare for the 2006 Tour de France.

The 62-year-old Grodefoot did not want Pevenage involved when Ullrich returned to T-Mobile in 2002 as he was bitter about Ullrich's switch to the Bianchi team in 2003.

Pevenage was a success the last time he was sporting director at T-Mobile, with Bjarne Riis winning the Tour in 1996 and then Ullrich taking the victory a year later.

The 31-year-old Ullrich i has finished runner-up five times in the Tour, three of them to American Lance Armstrong (2000, 2001, 2003).