The police have reported that a large quantity of substances have been found during the raids including EPO and masking agents. They indicated to Paris press around lunchtime Friday that they were close to busting the entire doping in sport network.
Later reports seem to provide some clarification. Specifically, Frank Vandenbroucke was questioned by French police in Paris and was released at 18.30. According to his father, Jean-Jacques Vandenbroucke, the report released by AFP was not accurate. Apparently, VDB went to Paris to go training with his teammate Philippe Gaumont.
Jean-Jacques Vandenbroucke is a mechanic with the Lotto team and is currently working with the team at the 4 Days of Dunkirk. He told the press that he was "here working". He said that his sone was indeed questioned by French police on Friday. "Franck was with his friend Philippe Gaumont. Can one blame him for being with Gaumont or being a friend of Lavelot who were both questioned."
Sport's lawyer Bertrand Lavelot, was also placed in police custody on Friday. Jean-Jacques Vandenbroucke said: "He defended the interest of Franck when he was having legal battles over financial matters with Mapei last year. I am completely amazed at the arrest of my son. He was taken in by chance. The police did not come for him at all. They did not know who he was at first. They had come for Gaumont."
The police were actually following up on a 1998 investigation of Gaumont and were stimulated to interview him again because drugs were found in Paris on Thursday night. At the moment that the police were talking with Gaumont at his house, VDB arrived. At first the police were unclear who he was but when he identified himself, the police said he should come down to Paris for questioning. VDB rang his wife and told her not to worry.
The police questioned the riders and said that they were suspected of being drug users. But this really is a generic classification by police at the moment for all cyclists. The police did not have VDB as their target. They were subjected to blood and hair examination and were released later in the day. No charges were laid.
The contents, if verified, will be damaging for all the riders involved. But if they are true records, then according to Voet's lawyer, Richard Virenque and others will be embarrassed. The notes were written in code by Voet to prevent their contents being easily read. The evidence given yesterday indicates that an X next to a rider's name indicated EPO was given to that rider.
Voet is now happy that the real culprites in the doping scandal are finally being brought to the courts. The release of the books comes just a day or so after Voet announced he was publishing a book on May 18 telling all.
In the afternoon, Patrick Keil heard 4 key players in cycling - French Cycling Federation president Daniel Baal, Jean-Marie Leblanc (Tour director), Roger Legeay (President of the League of Professional) and Bruno Roussel, former manager of Festina. Observers said that this planned confrontation in Keil's office was a "novel judicial act".
Baal tried to say that as soon as he became aware of the doping problem in the peloton, he set about doing something about it. Virenque, for one, has laid blame at the cycling officials who he claims knew about doping and did nothing about it.
The manager told the press that: "Last year Daniel Clavero finished fifth: the Giro is a race that he likes and he comes back with the objective of improving his placing. It will not be easy, but that is his objective".
Clavero was also seventh at the Vuelta a España up until the third last day but was forced to withdraw after due to a high hematocrit count. The manager told the press that: We will be hunting for stage wins. Smetanine is not a sprinter for the big bunch, but he can dominate out of a selective group. Zinchenko, who had three stage wins at the last Vuelta is an attacker and will be out man for the escapes. Buenahora is an expert rider, who has talent and knows how to suffer. He rode the Giro del Trentino and he's making good progress. We will also curious to see how Santiago Blanco will go. He is a promising young rider who should be with the best in the mountain stages. It would be a good result for us if we won a stage and we placed a man in a high position in the overall".
"Riders would do well if they didn't attend the Tour de France", declared the ex-hour record holder. "We have to decide what is more important, the sport laws or the civil laws and the press should examine their conscience so that the drugs issue is handled in more equitable ways by the authorities."
The last month has been very frustrating for Kristy as the only treatment has been rest during a period when other members of the Australian Womens Squad have been training and racing in the Canberra area. She only started to suffer from the symptoms of the post concussion syndrome after the nationals time trail which she won ahead of Kathy Watt. This was three weeks after the crash. Kristy told cyclingnews.com that the condition "made me feel fatigued, lethargic and I suffered from a constant headache. ... After 4 weeks, of forced rest, I'm starting to feel much better now and I am extremely keen, to build up my fitness again. ... I have 6 weeks until the team heads off to Germany and our first race will be the Giro d'Italia which starts on the 30th June."
Kristy has modified her training program so as to build up the training whilst allowing time for the much needed recovery her body needs after the concussion. She intends to "ensure that I am fit and very ready to ride the Giro at the end of June".
Today was 156km finishing up a 10km mountain which was at 7,000 ft ....yea! A group got away about half way through. We had Sylvain Beauchamp in the group Saturn had Mark McCormack 7-up had Steve Specks and Mercury had Willet - so we were all happy with the move. Long story short ... Shaklee's Beauchamp won Speaks 2nd Willet 3rd. For the GC, Wherry leads with Speaks at 0.07, Beauchamp at 0.42, and Wohlberg at 0.52. All in all we are in the hunt for the win. Glen, and I are work horses for the week so we will sleep well all week thank-you guys.
I did an extra 80kms after the stage with the Saturn boys just for good measure. 230km for the day so all was not lost.