Police raid Cofidis headquarters in doping case
(updates with team confirmation, reaction)
PARIS, Jan 13 (Reuters) - French police searched the headquarters of Cofidis in northern France and
the office of one of their doctors on Monday as part of a doping inquiry, the manager of the cycling
team said on Tuesday.
"The police arrived at 1600 (1500 GMT) on Monday and left our headquarters at 2130 (2030 GMT),"
Alain Bondue told Reuters.
"They told me they were investigating a case of doping similar to the Festina affair (...) They did
not find any banned products but seized the medical files of some our riders in the office of doctor
Jean-Jacques Menuet."
Bondue added that Cofidis had nothing to worry about.
"We haven't done anything wrong," he said.
According to the French sports daily L'Equipe, who reported the raid on Tuesday, Menuet also has
dealings with several French athletes including Christine Arron and Muriel Hurtis.
But the newspaper added that the inquiry did not concern the 4x100 metres relay world champions "
Bondue said the Cofidis riders, including British time trial world champion David Millar and
Australian sprinter Stuart O'Grady, were not interviewed because they were training near Valence, in
the south of Spain.
Former Cofidis rider Marek Rutkiewicz was arrested at Paris's Charles de Gaulle airport on Monday
and is in custody in Paris the newspaper said.