Stefan Denifle, who was banned for four years by the UCI after a police investigation "Operation Aderlass" uncovered blood doping, has admitted to doping for five years.

Denifle is facing criminal charges of commercial fraud in the state court in Innsbruck, Austria.

The 32-year-old Austrian raced for the now-defunct IAM Cycling Team and Aquablue Sports during the period he was doping (2014-2018) and is believed to be behind the blood doping ring uncovered by Operation Adelrath, He confirms that he used the services of Gerolsteiner's former team doctor, Mark Schmidt.

Denifl's blood bags were reportedly among those seized when authorities raided a garage in Erfurt, Germany in early 2019.

According to "Tirol.orf.at" (opens in new tab), "I am not a criminal," Denifl told the hearing, saying that he started doping after a serious knee injury to regain his former performance level and that the team knew that many players were doping He claimed.

"If I had not doped, I would not have gotten the contract," he claimed.

Denifle had signed with the 2019 CCC team, but withdrew from the contract in December 2018, before the season began. Team manager Jim Ochowicz said there were no warning signs on Denifle's biological passport.

Denifle said he declined to sign with the CCC team to spend more time with his family.

"I didn't want to [race] anymore, I wanted to be with my son and finally have a life," he said.

Operation Adelrath will be rolled out in February 2019, and to date, Deniful, Georg Preidler, Kristijan Dulasek, Alessandro Petacchi, mountain biker Kristina Kolman-Forstner, Borut Bozic, Kristijan Koren seven cyclists were barred from involvement.

The APA Agency reports that representatives of the team that awarded Denifle the contract will be heard as witnesses at the request of Denifle's attorney.

Team Sunweb has declared that it will take action against Georg Preidler if he is found to have doped during his time with the team, but Denifle's lawyers have been informed that the alleged victims of Denifle's doping, IAM Cycling and Aqua Blue Sports argued that they had not filed any complaint.

According to prosecutors, Denifle had been using a prepaid cell phone to contact Schmidt since 2016, banking blood under the nickname "No Name." They allege that Denifle misled his sponsors by using performance-enhancing drugs, including growth hormones, and estimate his damages at €580,000. If found guilty, he could face up to 10 years in prison.

His lawyer argued that Denifle had already been stripped of his grades through 2014 and banned for four years, and that criminal charges would punish him twice for the same act.