Icon: enlarge
Nairo Quintana is said to have been questioned during the investigation
Photo:
STEPHANE MAHE / REUTERS
On paper, the Tour de France has probably never been cleaner.
That could change now, and cycling is threatened with a new scandal.
The overview of the investigation against the Arkéa-Samsic team.
What is the state of the investigation?
The French public prosecutor's office announced on Monday that it had started a preliminary investigation into suspected doping, but did not name any names.
In the meantime, the French team Arkéa-Samsic has confirmed that the investigations are directed against drivers of the team.
Public prosecutor Dominique Laurens confirmed to the AFP news agency that the suspected doping concerns a "small part" of the racing team concerned.
During searches, "many health products and drugs were found."
A "method that could be described as doping" was also discovered.
It is now being investigated because of the prescription of a prohibited substance and the help with and incitement to ingestion of this very substance.
According to the public prosecutor's office, two people were in police custody.
According to media reports, the searches in hotel rooms and team accommodations took place after the 17th stage last Wednesday in Méribel.
According to "Le Parisien" and the Reuters news agency, 100 milliliters of saline solution and material for infusions were found.
The newspaper also reports that the two arrested people are a doctor and a physiotherapist.
"L'Équipe" reports that the two are relatives of the brothers Nairo and Dayer Quintana.
The two Colombians and their compatriot Winner Anacona, also a professional at Arkéa-Samsic, are said to have been questioned in the course of the investigation.
What do the accused say about the allegations?
Emmanuel Hubert, head of the Arkéa-Samsic team, confirmed the searches and investigations.
He emphasized in a message, however, that these were not directed against the team, himself or other employees, but against "a very limited number of drivers" and their companions who are not employed by Arkéa-Samsic.
It is currently not known whether this is a protective claim or whether the team could be more involved.
"Of course we support our drivers," said Hubert.
However, should the doping allegations prove to be true, the team will "immediately distance themselves from such acts" and take measures to end the connections that the team could link "with unacceptable methods".
The team's three Colombian drivers, Nairo and Dayer Quintana and Winner Anacona have not yet commented on the allegations.
What kind of team is that?
Arkéa-Samsic is a French team from the Continental Circuit, the second division of world cycling, so to speak.
However, the team has received wild cards for the Tour de France in recent years and was thus allowed to take part in the most important tour in the world.
She is a member of the Movement for Credible Cycling (MPCC), which advocates strict compliance with the ethical code of the UCI World Cycling Association.
So far, there have been no doping suspicions against Arkéa-Samsic, team boss Emmanuel Hubert or sports director Sébastien Hinault, both of whom are former professionals themselves.
At this year's Tour de France, the team was inconspicuous, did not win a stage and was only rarely represented in breakaway groups.
According to "Pro Cycling Stats", none of the 22 teams won less prize money than Arkéa-Samsic (15,600 euros).
Who are the drivers?
The Arkéa-Samsic squad consists mainly of French drivers, with Warren Barguil having been the star of the team since 2018.
For the current season, the team signed the Quintana brothers and Anacona, three Colombians.
The trio still knows each other from years together with the Spanish Movistar team.
So far there have been no specific doping allegations against the Quintanas and Anacona.
Nairo Quintana is the most successful driver of the three.
The 30-year-old has already won the Giro d'Italia 2014 and the Vuelta a España 2016, among others.
He was on the Tour de France podium three times.
At the Tour of France, which ended on Sunday, Quintana was hardly noticed and finished in 17th place.
How is the UCI reacting?
The World Cycling Federation UCI announced a review.
"The UCI welcomes and supports the action of all parties involved and will take the appropriate measures as soon as it has taken note of the information from the French judicial authorities," said the association in a statement.
Is doping still used in cycling?
This year, the Tour de France looks as clean as probably never before.
Only five percent of the participants have been caught doping in the past or have confessed to it.
But it could not stay that way.
If drivers test positive afterwards, the percentage increases.
Read in the large data analysis how the subject of doping at the Tour de France has developed over the years.
However, the performances on this year's tour looked incredibly good.
The 21-year-old winner Tadej Pogacar exceeded the climbing record of the former doper Alexander Vinokurow on the Col de Peyresourde.
On the final stage, Pogacar won the yellow jersey with an outstanding performance in the mountain time trial, in which he was more than a minute faster than time trial specialists.
However, there is no specific suspicion of doping against Pogacar.
The last well-known driver to be caught on the doping tour was Frank Schleck from Luxembourg in 2012.
Icon: The mirror
With material from dpa, Reuters and sid
