Teams pull out of Étoile de Bessège cycling race after car enters course
'The safety of our riders and staff is of paramount importance. Following multiple incidents of public vehicles entering the race course our riders, together with other teams, have decided not to complete today's stage at #EDB2025,' Ineos Grenadiers said.
Overall leader Paul Magnier's Soudal Quick-Step team as well as Red Bull Bora-Hansgrohe, Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale, Lidl Trek, EF Education-Easy Post and Uno-X Mobility also abandoned the race.
The remaining riders also stopped during Friday's stage in protest at having to compete in adverse conditions.
More details soon …
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South Wales Argus
08-08-2025
- South Wales Argus
Tour of Britain Men: Final stages to be hosted in Wales
The prestigious event will see the world's best cyclists battling it out, with the rugged climbs of south Wales providing a stern test. The stages, on September 6, and 7, will feature routes through Pontypool, Newport, and Cardiff, with the notable ascent of The Tumble, near Abergavenny. This is expected to be the final race for INEOS Grenadiers rider, Geraint Thomas. For the first time, Pontypool will see the start of stage five on September 6. The route will navigate through Monmouthshire, concluding with a double climb of The Tumble. The final stage on September 7 kicks off at the Geraint Thomas National Velodrome of Wales in Newport. It will cut across the undulating landscapes of south Wales, passing Maindy Velodrome, before finishing in the heart of Cardiff city centre. This follows the successful hosting of the Lloyds National Road Championships in Aberaeron and Aberystwyth in June, under a three-year agreement between the Welsh Government and British Cycling. Jack Sargeant, Welsh government minister responsible for sport, said: "We're excited to welcome the Men's Tour of Britain back to Wales once again, an event we have proudly supported over a number of years. "The Tour has found a successful home in Wales, and each time it returns it showcases our cities, towns, communities and landscapes to an international audience, as well as attracting athletes from all over the world." A double climb of The Tumble will prove a stern test (Image: Zac Williams/ September will mark the second time that Cardiff has hosted the overall finish of the Lloyds Tour of Britain Men, having done so in 2017, and only the third time in the modern race's 21-year history that the event has finished in Wales. Jonathan Day, managing director of British Cycling Events, said: "Wales has provided some of the most iconic moments in Lloyds Tour of Britain history over the years, and this September will be no different. "The Lloyds Tour of Britain Men never fails to draw a crowd in south Wales, and with the four fantastic locations and two stages falling across a weekend we are confident that this will make for a really special atmosphere and a fantastic way to round out the race, and crown our 2025 champion." The weekend will also include an amateur event, the official Lloyds Tour of Britain Ride the Route on September 6, starting and finishing at the Geraint Thomas National Velodrome of Wales in Newport. The full routes of both Welsh stages will be revealed later in July. The Lloyds Tour of Britain Men begins in East Suffolk on September 2, with stages also in Suffolk, Milton Keynes, Central Bedfordshire and Warwickshire before the race arrives in Wales. Further announcements about the participating teams and all six stage routes will be made in the coming weeks.
BBC News
01-08-2025
- BBC News
Ineos carer facing doping probe worked at Man Utd
The Ineos Grenadiers staff member who left the Tour de France after being asked to speak to the International Testing Agency (ITA) about doping allegations relating to the 2012 season worked at Manchester United last cycling team confirmed David Rozman had received an interview request from the ITA after initially being contacted in April, and "stepped back" from Tour duties last Slovenian is one of Ineos' soigneurs, a role that involves working as an assistant to riders and providing a range of services from logistics to has now emerged Rozman worked alongside United's soft tissue therapists for a one month placement in 2024 as part of a 'knowledge exchange' after Ineos owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe became co-owner of the Sport has been told United had no knowledge of the recently published historic allegations and insiders claim they have no involvement in declined to comment. Ineos have been approached for comment. Ineos Grenadiers, then known as Team Sky, won the 2012 Tour de France, with Britain's Bradley Wiggins claiming the yellow jersey, and the team went on to win six of the next seven editions of the cycling team has confirmed that Rozman was informally contacted in April 2025 by a member of ITA staff, who asked him about alleged historical communications, claiming that it then commissioned a review by an external law a statement at the time it said: "The team has acted responsibly and with due process, taking the allegations seriously whilst acknowledging that David is a long-standing, dedicated member of the team."The team continues to assess the circumstances and any relevant developments, and has formally requested any relevant information from the ITA. To date the team has received no evidence from any relevant authority."Both David and the team will of course co-operate with the ITA and any other authority."Earlier in July, the Irish Independent reported that in 2012, Rozman had exchanged messages with convicted German doping doctor Mark Schmidt.A documentary by German TV company ARD also linked Ineos to Schmidt but did not name the staff member 2021, Schmidt was sentenced to four years and 10 months in jail after being convicted of administering illegal blood transfusions to athletes within cycling and a number of other sports as part of Operation contacted by BBC Sport, the ITA said its investigations are "conducted confidentially" and "outcomes may only be shared if and when it yields the pursuit of one or more anti-doping rule violations."In June, Ineos director of sport Sir Dave Brailsford scaled back his involvement with Manchester United, having previously played a key role in football stepped down as team principal of Ineos Grenadiers after Ratcliffe acquired his stake in United but has returned to a key role at the cycling team and was present at this year's Tour de 61-year-old oversaw a sustained period of success at British Cycling and Team Sky and became synonymous with the 'marginal gains' his career has involved several controversies. Dr Richard Freeman - the former chief medic at both British Cycling and Team Sky - was banned from all sport for four years for violating anti-doping rules in August 2018, Brailsford appeared before a parliamentary committee to answer questions on the contents of a mystery "jiffy bag" Freeman had instructed be delivered to Wiggins before a 2011 race, amid an allegation it contained the banned anti-inflammatory drug followed the revelation Wiggins received therapeutic use exemptions (TUEs) for triamcinolone to treat asthma and allergies shortly before three major and Brailsford maintained the bag contained legal flu medication, and ultimately a parliamentary committee said it was unable to determine what was inside the jiffy a final report in 2018, the MPs accused Team Sky of "crossing an ethical line" in its use of TUEs more British Cycling, Team Sky and Ineos have always denied any wrongdoing.
Telegraph
01-08-2025
- Telegraph
Ineos staff member linked to doping worked at Manchester United
David Rozman, the Ineos Grenadiers head carer who was sent home from the recent Tour de France after becoming the subject of a doping investigation, spent a few weeks last season working with Manchester United, it has emerged. Rozman, a Slovenian, is alleged to have sent text messages to a German doping doctor, Mark Schmidt, in June 2012, shortly before Sir Bradley Wiggins became the first British man to win the Tour de France. Schmidt had worked for a team called Milram that, prior to its disbandment in 2010, had been rocked by doping scandals. Rozman spent four weeks last year working as part of an exchange programme introduced after Ineos co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe took control of Manchester United. The allegations regarding the Slovenian stem from a documentary by German TV outlet ARD, which was broadcast before the Tour de France and which drew on court transcripts and in-court reporting during the infamous Aderlass hearings. Those hearings resulted in Schmidt being jailed in 2021 for orchestrating a doping ring revolving around cross-country skiers and multiple cyclists between 2012 and 2019. Although Rozman was not named in the documentary, and was merely referred to as a longstanding member of Ineos Grenadiers, the Irish Independent subsequently named him, as well as publishing some of the messages referred to in court. In one of them, Rozman allegedly asked Schmidt: 'Do you still have any of the stuff that Milram used during the races? If so, can you bring it for the boys?' Ineos Grenadiers initially declined to comment after Rozman was named. Sir Dave Brailsford, who was in charge of what was then called Team Sky in 2012 and is now the head of Ineos Sport, was back at the race for the first time since leaving his role at Manchester United, where he was one of Ratcliffe's most senior lieutenants. But he refused to speak to journalists. A team spokesperson later admitted that Rozman had been informally contacted by the International Testing Agency [ITA] in April and that the team had 'promptly' launched their own review by an external law firm. Rozman is yet to comment on these allegations. Rozman's time with Manchester United is understood not to have coincided with these developments. 'David Rozman was informally contacted in April 2025 by a member of ITA staff, who asked him about alleged historical communications,' read an Ineos Grenadiers statement. 'David immediately notified the team of his meeting with the ITA and his recollection of the contents of the meeting. Although the ITA assured David at the time that he was not under investigation, Ineos promptly commissioned a thorough review by an external law firm. 'The team has acted responsibly and with due process, taking the allegations seriously whilst acknowledging that David is a long-standing, dedicated member of the team. The team continues to assess the circumstances and any relevant developments, and has formally requested any relevant information from the ITA.'
