Belgian team transport searched on eve of Tour de France
The Quick Step team bus has been seized by French police and taken to a police station to be searched by anti-doping investigators, according to Ouest-France. The bus was escorted from the team’s hotel in Challons by four unmarked police cars and taken to La Roche sur Yon where, reportedly, it is currently being searched.
“The police searched our bus and have taken it away,” the team’s spokesman Alessandro Tegner confirmed to Sporza. “Our driver, and team manager Wilfried Peeters are at the police station. I don’t know what they’re looking for.”
The team had recently returned from Les Herbiers, where it held its pre-race press conference, where team captains Tom Boonen, Sylvain Chavanel and Jérôme Pineau had been speaking about their aims for the race.
This is the latest in a series of incidents of the French police have investigated team vehicles on the build up to the race. Earlier in the week a number of official cars were stopped and searched at an autoroute toll station on he way to the race. So far though, there have been no reports of anything found in the possession of any teams.
VeloNation will bring you more on this story as it unfolds.