Cycling-Kloeden turns his back on Germany

PESARO, Italy May 20 (Reuters) - Cyclist Andreas Kloeden has said he will not ride for Germany in the Beijing Olympics and will never represent his country again.

Kloeden said the media had killed cycling in Germany with the way they had reported doping scandals in the sport.

"I'd like to ride the two road race events (at the Olympics) but not for Germany. It's an impossible dream. I've finished with Germany," he told Italy's Gazzetta dello Sport in an interview.

"German journalists have killed cycling. At the (2007) world championships in Stuttgart I was really happy to see (Italian Paolo) Bettini win and then pretend to shoot a gun at his critics as he crossed the finish line."

The 32-year-old Kloeden, who is 15th in the overall standings in the Giro d'Italia after nine stages, was born in Saxony but left Germany in 2003 and now lives in Switzerland, near his former T-Mobile team mate Jan Ullrich.

Ullrich won the 1997 Tour de France but was implicated in the Spanish Operacion Puerto doping investigation. T-Mobile stopped him riding the 2006 Tour de France and then sacked him. He recently avoided trial for fraud in Germany by reaching a six-figure financial settlement as allowed under German law. Ullrich has always denied doping.

Kloeden rode for T-Mobile between 1998 and 2006. He finished second behind Lance Armstrong in the 2004 Tour de France and was second again in 2006 behind Spain's Oscar Pereiro. He denies ever doping during his career.

"I've always worked cleanly," he told Gazzetta dello Sport. "So far this season I've had 22 anti-doping tests, including seven by my Astana team, who have delegated special tests to Pwc, a German company."

"I'm controlled by five different groups: WADA (World Anti-Doping Agency), UCI (International Cycling Union), Pwc, Nada (the Germany anti-doping agency) and the Swiss Cycling Federation."

"At Astana we're tested better than at almost any other team in the Giro d'Italia."

Kloeden is the favourite for Tuesday's 39.4-km individual time trial stage of the Giro from Pesaro to Urbino but played down his chances of overall victory in the three-week race.

"I'm motivated, I'll do my best, I hope to win but this Giro doesn't suit me," he said. "The climbs are more suited to the Italians, to riders like (Danilo) Di Luca who is more explosive."

(Editing by Clare Fallon)