Festina's tour fate in the balance

Tour de France organisers refused to comment yesterday on the fate of the Festina team in this year's race following the seizure of banned drugs from a masseur in an official team car by customs officers.

The Festina team was expelled from last year's race after an uncannily similar incident - the whole race was overshadowed by the spectre of doping scandals - but for the time being Tour officials are not revealing what, if any, action they will take.

A week ago, announcing the entry list, Tour organisers said Festina could compete in this year's event but ejected the Dutch TVM team. Italian team Vini Caldirola has also been expelled since, after one of their riders failed a blood test last week.

French customs officials revealed on Wednesday that they had discovered two banned products in a Festina team car driven by physiotherapist Rick Keyaerts, which they had stopped on the Franco-Belgian border last Thursday.

Initially French customs had said that the car was only carrying creatine, which is not on the list of substances banned by the International Cycling Union (UCI) or the International Olympic Committee (IOC), and other legal products and were only enough for the treatment of one rider over a period of three months.

The two substances were named as Neoton, a creatine derivative, and Diprophos, a corticoid.

They both figure on the French Ministry of Youth and Sport's list of doping products, customs chiefs claimed, but neither substance is on the list of substances that can be seized by customs officers.

Earlier yesterday, Festina, which has painstakingly rebuilt its reputation since they were expelled from last year's Tour de France after then team boss Bruno Roussel admitted to systematic dopetaking within the outfit, had sacked Keyaerts for breaking team rules.

"Rick Keyaerts was transporting the products without permission of the team," a Festina spokesperson said.

"Although they were not illegal substances it is totally against team rules for anyone other than the team doctor to carry such products in a team car," the spokesperson added.

The incident bears an uncanny echo of what prompted last year's Tour de France doping scandal.

Willy Voet, at that time one of Festina's physiotherapists, was stopped on the Franco-Belgian border driving an official team car. The subsequent search revealed a trunk full of banned drugs.

Following the arrest and confession of Roussel, once the peloton had returned to France from the opening stages held in Ireland, Festina's entire team was arrested and forced to undergo medical tests.

Meanwhile, top cycling team Cofidis have recalled their Belgian rider Frank Vandenbroucke, who was suspended by the team after being questioned by Paris police in a doping inquiry.

Cofidis have been invited to the Tour de France this year although their rider Philippe Gaumont was banned after failing a recent blood test.

However, Tour organisers reserved the right to exclude further teams or athletes before or during the event, which starts in July 3rd.