– It is conceivable that people do not have clean flour in the bag
COPENHAGEN (VG) Here, the police show off one of a total of 14 doping raids against cycling in the last week. Alexander Kristoff’s coach likes what he sees.
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Police and six different countries have taken part in the operation in the last week.
At the center of the investigation is the Tour de France team Bahrain Victorious. They experienced that Danish police searched their hotel at 05.30 Thursday morning. By then, several riders and people in the support apparatus had already had visits to his private homes.
The team also experienced making a raid last year, but denies that they anything that is in violation of anti-doping regulations.
– The police probably do not strike without there being a suspicion, so you can imagine that it is people who have not rented me in the bag yet, says Alexander Kristoff to VG.
He took it relatively speaking calm during yesterday’s pace stage in Copenhagen. Only today does the seriousness start in the form of a possible mass sprint for the 34-year-old.
– It has been getting doping cases lately, and it’s probably like many doping tests as before, so I think a lot of the turbidity has been weeded out. But there is always someone who tries to exploit loopholes, Kristoff believes.
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Coach and stepfather Stein Ørn was also in Copenhagen on Friday night.
Facing VG involves his importance of the police to get rid of doping use in cycling.
– Are you worried that doping is being used among riders in the field now?
– What is happening now is important. I see it as positive that it is activity. It sends good signals to those who may be on the wrong track, says Ørn.
He emphasizes that it has not been cycled in a way that makes individual riders suspicious of saying it lately.
– What is not good is that when you have actions as we see now, it means that something has happened that makes the police have a clear suspicion. I have no idea what the suspicion is based on, but I think it is good that the authorities and the police are also involved internationally here.
The investigation is led by Europol and the police must have seized both doctors and electronic equipment after the operation last week. The material has not yet been analyzed and the result is therefore not known.
UCI President David Lappartient commented on the matter when he visited the Danish capital on Saturday afternoon.
The Frenchman praised police cooperation across European borders, and he is not surprised by what is happening now:
– We already knew that this investigation has been going on since last year. The Tour de France is the biggest event in the world and that is probably why they have focused on this race, he said.
Uncertainty about wind
Saturday’s stage in the Tour de France goes from Roskilde to Nyborg on Funen. The stage is relatively flat. The big question, however, is the conclusion: Then the riders must cross the 18-kilometer-long Great Belt Bridge.
You can speak up in the field if you can get strong from the side.
– He meets people who have very good resources around them and who are in good shape. But Alexander has also been performing bras in training lately, and he is doing well now. He is in good shape, but must be “present” and the opportunity that presents itself, says Stein Ørn.
When Kristoff checked the weather forecast two days ago, there were many indications that the strong crosswind would be absent:
– I think it could be an exciting stage, but on the weather forecast it has seemed as if it will be a lot of headwinds, and then it asks if it splits a lot in the field anyway. Men man vet never. Things are changing, Kristoff told VG on Friday.