By DPA
Aigle (Switzerland) : The International Cycling Union (UCI) urged Bjarne Riis to return the yellow jersey from his 1996 Tour de France victory, after the Danish cyclist confessed to doping during the tour.
Riis, 43, Friday admitted that he had used banned substances between 1993 and 1998, and that he had used erythropoietin (EPO) blood doping in his 1996 Tour de France win.
In an emotional news conference in Copenhagen, Riis said he would not have done the same today and that he did not feel he was a honourable winner of the 1996 tour.
The UCI in a statement said the time limit for sanctioning Riis had elapsed, but the union said it "urges the former rider to return his yellow jersey, the symbol of his victory".
Riis' admission came one day after two former teammates from Germany's Team Telekom – Erik Zabel and Rolf Aldag – made similar confessions. Riis is the seventh cyclist once on the Telekom team to admit to doping.
Jan Ullrich, also formerly of Team Telekom, will also be making a statement about his sporting past, but it was not clear when.