COPENHAGEN, June 30 (Reuters) – Danish police raided the hotel of the Bahrain Victorious cycling team on Thursday at the request of French authorities, Copenhagen police said in a statement on the eve of the Grand Départ of the Tour de France. .
Authorities searched all team vehicles and the bedrooms of staff and riders at 5.30am local time in Brondby. The homes of riders and staff were also raided by police on Monday before they left for the Tour. Read more
French prosecutors have opened a preliminary investigation into doping allegations against Bahrain Victorious after police raided the team’s hotel at the end of last year’s race. Read more
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“Based on a request from French police, as part of an ongoing investigation in France, we have carried out a search of a hotel in Brondby,” Chief Superintendent Dannie Rise said.
“We have no further information on the operation, and I will refer you to the French police to find out more about the investigation itself.”
The team said in a statement that they cooperated fully with authorities and the search was completed within two hours.
“No items were seized from the team,” he added.
Bahrain Victorious won three stages in last year’s Tour. Their accommodation was searched after the 17th stage.
At the time, the Marseille public prosecutor’s office indicated that the investigation related to “the acquisition, transport, possession, import of a prohibited substance or a prohibited method for the use of an athlete without medical justification”.
This year’s tour begins Friday in Copenhagen.
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Reporting by Stine Jacobsen and Hritika Sharma in Bengaluru, editing by Peter Rutherford
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