Cofidis suspends Di Gregorio from Tour de France after doping arrest
Tour de France team Cofidis has suspended Frenchman Remy Di Gregorio over doping allegations after his arrest during a police raid at his team's hotel in Bourg-en-Bresse, eastern France.
Issued on: Modified:
Di Gregorio, 26, was arrested on the race's first rest day Tuesday.
It will resume at Macon on the 10th stage Wednesday.
"We have just learned that one of our riders, competing at the Tour de France, has attempted to resort to doping substances to improve his performance,” a team statement said.
If the suspicions are confirmed, Di Gregorio will be “sacked on the spot”, it says.
It is not the first time one or several riders from Cofidis have been embroiled in a doping affair.
Under pressure from organisers the team voluntarily left the race in 2007 when an Italian rider, Cristian Moreni, tested positive for the banned blood booster EPO (erythropoietin).
Di Gregorio was arrested earlier Tuesday as part of an investigation into the organised trafficking of doping substances, Marseille magistrate Jacques
Dallest told the AFP news agency.
He was taken into police custody in Bourg-en-Bresse and was brought to Marseille for further questioning by investigating magistrate Annaick Le Goff, Dallest said.
Two other unidentified men, who are suspected of "having dealings" with Di Gregorio, were also taken into police custody.
Di Gregorio joined Cofidis at the end of last season after turning professional in 2005.
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