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The investigation is the first major in several years for the scandal-stricken tour, which concluded Sunday in Paris with the victory of 21-year-old Tadej Pogacar, who became the youngest winner in more than a century.
Cyclists enter Paris on the last day of the Tour de France. Image: @ Arkea_Samsic / Twitter
MARSEILLE – French police detained two people on Monday as part of an investigation into suspected doping in this year’s Tour de France at the Arkea-Samsic team, prosecutors announced.
The investigation is the first major in several years for the scandal-stricken tour, which concluded Sunday in Paris with the victory of 21-year-old Tadej Pogacar, who became the youngest winner in more than a century.
In a statement, prosecutor Dominique Laurens in the southern city of Marseille said an investigation was underway in a “small part” of Arkea-Samsic, without specifying who had been taken into custody.
Laurens added that the two people had “many health products, including drugs in their personal effects, but also and above all a method that can be classified as doping.”
The general manager of the French team, Emmanuel Hubert, told AFP that he supported his runners.
“But if it turns out that at the end of the current investigation elements arrived to confirm the veracity of the doping practices, the team would immediately dissociate itself from such acts and take the necessary measures without delay,” he said.
A source familiar with the matter told AFP that the searches had targeted several riders, including Colombian Dayer Quintana, brother of team leader and former Giro d’Italia winner Nairo Quintana, as well as members of the medical team.
The French newspaper Le Parisien reported that the two detainees were a doctor and a physiotherapist.
TEAM NOT ‘DIRECTLY’ TARGETED
The investigation will be a huge disappointment to the organizers just one day after the positive headlines about the organization against all odds from the race and the last minute drama that saw Pogacar take victory in his first Tour de France.
Many had predicted that the COVID-19 pandemic would prevent cyclists from traveling the 3,400 kilometers from the Mediterranean city of Nice to the French capital.
Arkea-Samsic team manager Hubert said the investigation only involved “a very limited number of riders, as well as their close entourage who are not employees of the team.”
He added that the investigation “does not directly target the team or its staff.”
According to the prosecutor, the investigation focuses on the prescription of a prohibited substance or method for athletes, as well as the aid and encouragement in the use of that substance or method.
The charges can result in up to five years in prison and a fine of 75,000 euros ($ 88,000).
Arkea-Samsic leader Nairo Quintana finished the Tour in 17th place, more than an hour behind the winner, Pogacar. Quintana’s teammate Warren Barguil finished 14th, 31 minutes behind Pogacar.
The Tour de France has suffered repeated scandals over the years.
One of the biggest occurred in 1998 when customs officials stopped a vehicle loaded with anti-doping products, leading to Team Festina being thrown out of the race when the peloton staggered towards Paris.
American star cyclist Lance Armstrong, who won between 1999 and 2005, sparked more outrage and disappointment from fans by admitting that he had doped. Eventually, he was stripped of his seven Tour de France titles.
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