PARIS, Oct 14 — A preliminary investigation into several teams who took part in the 2009 Tour de France has been launched after suspicious medical material was seized during the race, Paris prosecutors said today.
Syringes and transfusion equipment believed to belong to teams were found in containers provided to dump medical waste and are being analysed, a spokeswoman for the prosecutors said.
“It (the material) is now being analysed by experts to determine whether we can find illegal substances and DNA that could possibly link it to riders,” she said.
She did not specify which teams were being probed and did not confirm reports saying the investigation was aimed at the Astana team of Tour winner Alberto Contador and seven times champion Lance Armstrong.
“Astana Cycling Team is surprised to read in the French press that the team is involved in an investigation by French prosecutors into doping,” the Kazakh-funded team, which has been involved in media controversy in the past, said in a statement.
“These media reports are the first we as a team have heard of an investigation. According to the press articles, the investigation involves a number of cycling teams having participated in the 2009 Tour de France,” the statement read.
“The Astana Cycling Team has nothing to hide, the riders use no forbidden substances, the team is confident in the result of analyses performed or to be performed by a Parisian laboratory and is prepared to cooperate,” Astana added.
Under French law, a preliminary investigation is launched to see if there are sufficient grounds for a formal investigation.
News of the investigation came ahead of the presentation of the route for the 2010 Tour de France in Paris today.
Cycling’s showcase event has been repeatedly tainted by doping controversy over the past few years.
Tour de France director Christian Prudhomme told Reuters this week the fact the 2009 race was scandal-free proved cycling was changing, although the fight against doping must continue.
The French anti-doping agency (AFLD) said this month a report on testing procedures during this year’s Tour suggested Astana were given preferential treatment during the race.
Astana and the International Cycling Union (UCI) dismissed the suggestions as groundless. — Reuters
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