Suspected doping in Team Bahrain Victorious: Shortly before the start of the Tour de France, authorities searched the team hotel – and not for the first time.
One day before the start of the Tour de France in the Danish capital Copenhagen, there was another raid on the Bahrain Victorious team. On Thursday morning at 5.30 a.m., the team’s hotel rooms and cars were searched in the Bröndby district. According to the Copenhagen police, this was done at the request of the French police.
Searches of drivers and team members
“We have no further information about the operation,” investigator Dannie Rise said in the statement. The team said they were fully cooperating with authorities and no items were confiscated.
Already on Monday there had been searches of the homes of drivers and team members across Europe. The team announced this themselves, but left open where the searches took place and which people were affected. Europol later said the raids took place in three countries.
Bahrain Victorious’ hotel rooms in the Pyrenees were searched during the last Tour of France. Cell phones were also confiscated, according to drivers. A result of the investigation is apparently still pending. So far, no official investigation has been initiated against any driver, nor have any bans been imposed. Bahrain Victorious had won the team classification and three stages on the previous tour.