Bike World News

French newspaper LeMonde.fr is reporting today that Parisian prosecutors are investigating the Astana team for criminal offenses related to the possession of infusion sets.

Dominique Perard, the Deputy Prosecutor of Paris, is examining materials seized from the garbage and hotel rooms used by Astana during the Tour de France. Syringes and needles of various sizes were recovered, and analysis by a toxicological laboratory has revealed the presence of “polypeptides”. Perard’s inquiry originally involved several teams, but is now solely focused on Astana. The materials were originally gathered by France’s Central Office of the Struggle Against Environmental Damage and Public Health (OCLAESP).

Prosecutors seized the medical waste along with medicines used to treat hypertension. Those medicines are called into question as doping experts say they are often used to treat high blood pressure associated with the practice of blood transfusions or taking EPO.

According to web sources, polypeptides are a type of protein containing between 10 and 100 molecules of amino acids. Polypeptides can be found in everything from skin cream to antibacterial treatments to human growth hormone. That, of course, is where investigators are focusing their efforts.

Whether the investigation leads to anything, possession of infusion sets is prohibited by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).

According to the same article, seven genetic profiles have been identified in the materials. Investigators will not be able to identify who those match if the UCI does not choose to cooperate with them. Relations between the UCI and the French authorities have been strained since the French Agency for the fight against doping (AFLD) issued a report that alleged preferential treatment received by Astana in doping controls during the last Tour.

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