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yesIn this year’s Tour de France there had already been speculation about doping, now a first case seems to be on the horizon. The Marseille prosecutor’s office confirmed to the AFP news agency on Monday that a preliminary investigation had been launched on suspicion of doping. According to the prosecutor Dominique Laurens, they are being investigated for the prescription of a prohibited substance and the aid and encouragement to ingest it.
Two people “from the immediate vicinity” of a driver have already been arrested, their names were not initially given. However, according to constant reports from the French media, it should be the Arkéa-Samsic team and Dayer Quintana, brother of Colombian cyclist Nairo Quintana. But he himself was not arrested. “Le Parisien” reports that the two detainees are a team doctor and a physiotherapist.
Numerous medical devices have been discovered, including drugs and, in this context, doping tests, the French public news agency AFP was quoted as saying by the prosecutor on Monday night. A search was reportedly carried out last Wednesday against several of the team’s drivers. It took place near the Méribel winter sports resort in the French Alps, the French sports newspaper “L’Équipe” reported. The French team boss Emmanuel Hubert confirmed this to the sports newspaper. Consequently, the action was not directed against the entire team, the police had looked at Quintana’s room, that of his brother Dayer and his Colombian compatriot Winner Anacona. Team vehicles were also searched. Initially there was no confirmation from the authorities. According to Hubert, the police operation was not carried out in cooperation with the French anti-doping agency AFLD. Prosecutor Laurens said it was a “small part” of the affected racing team.
The Rennes-based team had grown steadily in recent years and had been ambitious at the latest with the commitments of Nairo Quintana and Warren Barguil (France). Nairo Quintana and his brother Dayer had continued the tour despite the raid. During preliminary investigations, it is initially only checked if there is something to the allegations.
The field arrived in Paris on Sunday, the Colombian finishing 17th overall, more than an hour behind winner Tadej Pogačar. The now 22-year-old Slovenian from UAE Team Emirates is due to the high power at stage 20 of the individual time trial. to the Planche des Belles Filles, even exposed to criticism for doping, but there are no concrete suspicions. Recently there have been several cases of doping in cycling among Slovenian actors, and there is a Slovenian connection with the German doping doctor Mark. S. Pogačar himself says: “I have a clean slate.” However, its discoverer Andrej Hauptman was not allowed to travel in 2000 because his blood values were too high.
In the context of the corona pandemic, only half of the tests are said to have been conducted as in the previous year, the Anti-Doping Commission for Cycling (CADF) said. The normal level was recently reached again. Dutchman Tom Dumoulin, who set out to win the tour and ultimately a noble aide to runner-up Primož Roglič on the Jumbo-Visma team, complained before the tour that he “hadn’t been tested for months.” The French Romain Bardet (“it was forever”) and Thibaut Pinot in April (“no proof since October 2019”) also expressed concern. Bardet’s teammate Nans Peters even asked, “Do scammers have a free hand right now?”
