Bicycle team hotels and cars searched by Danish police the day before the start of the Tour – NRK Sport – Sports news, results and broadcast schedule
The police arrived at the hotel at 5.30 on Thursday morning, the team writes on their own websites.
Thursday’s search came after several of the team’s riders and employees had their homes searched on Monday. The searches are being carried out at the request of French police.
– The police case the team vehicles and the land to the riders and employees. The team cooperates fully and completely according to the wishes of the police officers, and the searches were completed within the timer. No items were taken by the police.
Made that they will now focus on participating in the Tour and that they will not comment further on the matter.
– Must have material
Police confirm on his websites that they have searched the team.
– On the basis of a court request from politics, as part of an ongoing investigation in France, the Copenhagen Police have conducted a search of the hotel in Brøndby. Since this is an investigation being conducted by French police, we must refer to them for further comment, said Police Inspector Dannie Rise.
A French police officer was involved as an observer in the police operation.
Inggard Lereim has worked with anti-doping for a number of years. He says it is not uncommon for French police to take the initiative to investigate doping suspicions.
– We know this from several sports for decades. In several countries, the police have taken the initiative. We must also be offenders, also in Norway it has been forbidden since 2013 to dope oneself, just not to dope others remember this, he said.
He says police and doping investigators must have “quite certain clues” before conducting such searches.
– They must have material that can serve as evidence in the proceedings before WADA and to the international federation. It must be provable things, but rumors are often the starting point for going into a case more strongly, he says.
Repeated searches
According to the US website VeloNews Monday’s searches of the riders’ homes were carried out in several countries.
This is not the first time the cycling team has been the subject of searches. During last year’s edition of the Tour de France, French police searched a hotel for the team on suspicion of violating doping rules. They then launched a formal investigation.
Lereim says that if repeated searches are carried out without any revelation or case coming out of it, it can affect what practitioners and leaders think about the anti-doping work.
– Some may be inspired to continue doping because they expect not to be detected. It reduces the respect for those who need the search. One may ask whether the investigation is good enough.
Lereim is not surprised that such searches also come before this year’s Tour de France.
– There have been many cases over 30 years. No surprise this is coming this time too. It is a repetition of known events.
– Step back
NRK’s cycling expert Sondra Sørtveit thinks it is unfortunate that doping suspicions are being rectified in the cycling field.
– We have worked for many years to increase the trust most people have in the sport as a whole. My impression is that you have succeeded to a great extent, people have more confidence. But it is a step backwards when it emerges that layers have been searched with suspicion of illegalities, he says.
– It’s a step forward and a step back.
NRK’s bicycle commentator Ole Kristian Stoltenberg thinks the search is disruptive for the riders.
– If they do not find anything, the practitioners just have to brush this off and clear it out of the top lid before starting. If they find nothing, it will probably be baluba, he says.
– We have been involved in this before in the Tour de France. It is often a raid – and sometimes you find something, other times not.
The Tour de France starts with a short pace stage in the streets of Copenhagen on Friday and continues with further before stages in Denmark the journey continues to France.