French rider's post-mortem shows no drugs
by Patrick Vignal
BERLIN, June 4 (Reuters) - The post-mortem of French cycling hope Fabrice Salanson
revealed no trace of injury or drugs but further tests still have to be performed,
German state prosecutors said on Wednesday. The promising 23-year-old Brioches La
Boulangere rider was found in his hotel room in the eastern German city of Dresden on
Tuesday morning. He had died between 0230 and 0400 local time (0030-0200 GMT).
His body was found by a team mate shortly before the start of Tuesday's first stage of
the seven-day Tour of Germany cycle race from which the French stable subsequently
pulled out.
Dresden state prosecutors, who launched an investigation into Salanson's death, said the
post-mortem had been completed on Tuesday.
"It showed no trace of injuries or blows and no stimulant was found in the body," a
spokesman for the prosecutors said.
Spokesman Andreas Ferron said vials and pills had been found in a bag belonging to
Salanson but contained no illegal substances.
Further blood tests would be conducted at an IOC-accredited laboratory in Kreischa,
Germany, the results of which would not be known before Friday, he added.
"Those tests are aimed at establishing whether EPO could be connected to the death,"
Feron said.
Cycling, like other endurance sports, is particularly prone to drug-taking with many
positive tests for the blood-boosting drug erythropoietin (EPO), which scientists say
can lead to heart attacks.
TWO VICTORIES
Tour of Germany organisers said on Tuesday that everything indicated that Salanson had
died of natural causes.
Race doctor Georg Huber said he had been to Salanson's hotel on Monday evening to cure
one of his team mates of a minor problem. Salanson had not asked to see him, he said.
Salanson joined the Brioches team this year after riding with Bonjour from 2000 to 2002.
He won two professional events, his most important victory being on the second stage of
the Midi Libre in May 2002.
Salanson also had a stage win in the Tour de l'Avenir in 2000, his first year of
professional cycling.
Brioches were one of six French teams named last month to ride in this year's Tour
de France.
Team manager Jean-Rene Bernaudeau said that Salanson's room mate Sylvain Chavanel had
found him lying at the foot of his bed when he went to wake him in the morning.
Salanson became the third active professional rider to die this year. Italian Denis
Zanette died of heart attack in January after having his teeth cleaned by a dentist.
Kazakh Andrei Kivilev died in March after a crash in the Paris-Nice race.