German cyclist Patrick Sinkewitz was ordered to pay damages yesterday to a former sponsor who terminated the contract after the rider tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs.

A court in Fulda, northeast of Frankfurt, ruled that Sinkewitz must pay e100,000 ($127,820) to Foerstina, a maker of beverages which had to cancel an advertising campaign based on the former T-Mobile rider.

Sinkewitz tested positive for testosterone in an out-of-competition check before the 2007 Tour de France, prompting German television to pull out of live coverage of the race.