Latest news with #TeamSky
Straits Times
20 minutes ago
- Sport
- Straits Times
Arensman wins Tour de France 19th stage as Pogacar retains yellow jersey
LA PLAGNE, France - Thymen Arensman claimed his second victory in this year's Tour de France when he benefited from the top guns' waiting game to prevail in the 19th stage, the last mountain trek of the race on Friday. The Ineos Grenadiers rider, whose team have been facing doping questions related to their glorious days as Team Sky, went solo in the final climb to La Plagne before crossing the line two seconds ahead of Jonas Vingegaard and Tadej Pogacar, who were second and third respectively. Slovenian Pogacar retained the overall leader's yellow jersey and leads Vingegaard by 4:24 going into the final two stages and is widely expected to win a fourth title if he avoids a major incident. German Florian Lipowitz took fourth place on the shortened stage to cement his third place overall, stretching his advantage over fourth-placed Oscar Onley of Britain by 41 seconds to 1:03. It would have taken a colossal coup from Vingegaard to topple Pogacar on the final mountain test in the Alps, but the Visma-Lease a Bike rider only tried within the last 100 metres to take two seconds off of the Slovenian's lead, with Pogacar emerging as the puppet master of the peloton. A leading trio featuring France's Lenny Martinez and Valentin Paret Peintre as well as former Tour runner-up Primoz Roglic, reached the Col du Pre with a small gap of a chasing group after a brutal 12.2-km ascent at 7.7%. The peloton, controlled by Pogacar's UAE Emirates-XRG, trailed by less than a minute. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore SMRT to pay lower fine of $2.4m for EWL disruption; must invest at least $600k to boost reliability Singapore MRT service changes needed to modify 3 East-West Line stations on Changi Airport stretch: LTA Singapore S'pore could have nuclear energy 'within a few years', if it decides on it: UN nuclear watchdog chief Asia Recap: Evacuees recount explosions and separations as Thai-Cambodia clashes continue for second day Life 'Do you kill children?': Even before independence, S'pore has always loved its over-the-top campaigns Singapore Lung damage, poor brain development, addiction: What vaping does to the body Singapore Fine for couple whose catering companies owed $432,000 in salaries to 103 employees Singapore Kopi, care and conversation: How this 20-year-old helps improve the well-being of the elderly With two kilometres left in the climb up to the Cormet de Roselend (5.9km at 6.9%), Paret Peintre and Roglic shook off Martinez, but only briefly as the Bahrain-Victorious rider clawed his way back. Roglic went solo in the descent into Bourg Saint Maurice, dropping Martinez and Paret Peintre, who were quickly caught by the bunch. Roglic was then swallowed two kilometres before the final climb and spat out immediately. Austrian Felix Gall, gunning for a top five finish in Paris, accelerated 14.5km from the finish with Arensman, Pogacar and Vingegaard reacting. Pogacar made his own move 14km from the top with Vingegaard and Arensman the only riders able to get into his slipstream. Pogacar eventually let Arensman go and seemed content with setting a decent tempo to keep the Dutchman within reach, but the Slovenian eventually did not make the effort to go for a fifth stage win this year. REUTERS
The Guardian
9 hours ago
- Sport
- The Guardian
Ineos carer David Rozman leaves Tour de France after investigation launched by anti-doping authorities
David Rozman, a long-term member of Ineos Grenadiers' staff, has left the Tour de France after the International Testing Agency (ITA) launched an investigation into alleged messages he exchanged in 2012 with the subsequently convicted German doping doctor Mark Schmidt. The allegations stem from a recent documentary made by the German TV outlet ARD, which linked Rozman to Schmidt but did not name him, with further media reports including alleged texts between the Ineos staff member and Schmidt from June 2012 when the team were racing as Team Sky. The documentary and subsequent reports were said to have drawn on court transcripts and in-court reporting during the Aderlass hearings, which resulted in Schmidt being jailed in 2021 for orchestrating a doping ring revolving around cross-country skiers and multiple cyclists between 2012 and 2019. It was also claimed that Schmidt tried to arrange a visit to the Team Sky hotel on the evening of 6 July 2012. The following day Chris Froome won the Tour de France stage to La Planche des Belles Filles and Bradley Wiggins took the overall race lead. In a statement issued to the Guardian on Thursday, Ineos said Rozman had spoken 'informally' to the ITA in April when he was told he was not under investigation but added: 'Following recent media allegations, David Rozman has now received a request from the ITA to attend an interview. Accordingly, he has stepped back from race duties and has left the Tour.' Rozman is described by Ineos on its website as 'one of the longest-serving members of our staff' who 'takes on the important role of head carer'. He worked with the four-time Tour winner Froome and British Cycling has confirmed to the Guardian that he was also present, working for Team GB, at the London 2012 and Rio 2016 Olympic Games. The Ineos statement continued: 'David Rozman was informally contacted in April 2025 by a member of ITA staff, who asked him about alleged historical communications. 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. 'To date the team has received no evidence from any relevant authority. In response to the team's request for information, the ITA has advised the team that it cannot share any further information, due to legal and confidentiality restrictions. Both David and the team will of course co-operate with the ITA and any other authority. The team reiterates its zero-tolerance policy and is unable to comment further at this time.' Previously, the medical consultant Geert Leinders, who worked with Team Sky in 2012, was subsequently banned for life for multiple doping violations from 1996-2009 at a previous team, while the team doctor Richard Freeman was struck off in 2021 and banned for four years in 2023 for possession of a prohibited substance and tampering with part of doping control while at Team Sky. This article was amended on 24 July, 2025 to remove a reference to images of David Rozman having been deleted from Chris Froome's social media accounts. Images of the pair together remain on Instagram.
New York Times
a day ago
- Sport
- New York Times
INEOS team member leaves Tour de France amid investigation into historic link with doping doctor
The head carer of the INEOS Grenadiers professional cycling team has left the Tour de France amid an investigation over an alleged historic link to a doctor convicted of doping. A German television documentary and subsequent newspaper reporting last week alleged that David Rozman — working at the time as a 'soigneur' (carer) for Team Sky, now owned by INEOS — had exchanged messages with Mark Schmidt, a German doctor jailed in 2021 for his role in a high-profile doping ring, in 2012 and arranged to meet him during that year's race. Advertisement INEOS acknowledged last week that it was aware of the 'media allegations' surrounding the Slovenian but claimed the team had not, at any time, been presented formally with them by 'any appropriate authority'. In a statement on Thursday, first provided to and reported by The Guardian, INEOS reiterated that stance before confirming that Rozman has now stepped back from his role at the Tour to undertake an interview with the International Testing Agency (ITA), an independent organisation which implements anti-doping programs for international sports bodies. 'Team member David Rozman was informally contacted in April 2025 by a member of ITA staff, who asked him about alleged historical communications,' the statement read. '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.' According to German broadcaster ARD, one message read: 'Do you still have any of the stuff that Milram used during the races? If so, can you bring it for the boys?' Another allegedly had Schmidt being invited to visit the Team Sky hotel for a beer the night before a key mountain stage. 'Following recent media allegations, David has now received a request from the ITA to attend an interview,' the statement continued. 'Accordingly, he has stepped back from race duties and has left the Tour. To date the team has received no evidence from any relevant authority. In response to the team's request for information, the ITA has advised the team that it cannot share any further information, due to legal and confidentiality restrictions. Advertisement 'Both David and the team will of course co-operate with the ITA and any other authority. The team reiterates its zero-tolerance policy and is unable to comment further at this time.' The Athletic has approached the ITA for comment. INEOS had been enduring a difficult Tour de France until Dutch climber Thymen Arensman won stage 14, a steep climb to Superbagnères. Outside that success, however, INEOS have been largely anonymous. Their general classification leader Carlos Rodriguez was forced to withdraw on Thursday after fracturing his pelvis the day before, but he had only been 10th overall, a poorer result than both previous years. (Matthew Lloyd/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
The Independent
4 days ago
- Sport
- The Independent
Luke Rowe: ‘Cav should sleep with one eye open – Tadej Pogacar is coming for his Tour de France record'
The battle for the Tour de France 's yellow jersey lasted 12 days, but really it lasted about five minutes. That's how long Tadej Pogacar waited before attacking Jonas Vingegaard on the Hautacam, the first hors-categorie mountain of the Tour, with an acceleration that made the Danish double champion look like a weekend rider who'd taken a wrong turn. There is still a week's racing to come in the Alps, featuring a couple of menacing stages including Tuesday's summit finish atop Mont Ventoux. But Ventoux is more likely to be a stage for Pogacar to write another piece of Tour history than for Vingegaard to trim his four-and-a-half-minute deficit. As the remaining 167 riders recuperated in Montpellier on Monday, the second rest day of the Tour, there were reminders of the Team Sky /Ineos era, when their dominance over the peloton was such that, at least in French media, they were portrayed as a boa constrictor squeezing all life and joy out of the race. Pogacar's reign is different in that he pulls off virtuoso attacks even when his team don't have full control of the peloton, but there is that same sense that we already know who will be wearing yellow in Paris. 'You build up to the Tour de France for months and months,' says Luke Rowe, the Team Sky/Ineos Grenadiers road captain who marshalled Chris Froome, Geraint Thomas and Egan Bernal to glory in the yellow jersey. 'We talk about it all year, and what you hope doesn't happen is you hit the first mountain stage, and there's a clear divide between first and second. You hope they go toe to toe like they did a few years ago – one got the lead, the other got the lead, they're knocking lumps out of each other. But what you don't want to see is the first HC mountain top finish, and one of them attacks with 10k to go and distances the other by two minutes.' Pogacar tightened his grip with another win in the mountain time trial which followed, and added a few more seconds to his advantage by beating Vingegaard to some bonus seconds on Saturday. At 26, the Slovenian is on the brink of adding a fourth yellow jersey to a palmares which includes the Giro d'Italia, the world title and nine Monument Classics. He is the best cyclist of his generation. He might be the most dominant athlete on the planet right now. 'It's not just what he's won, it's how he wins it, and the diversity of the races he competes in. Whatever the terrain, he's one of the favourites. People sometimes compare Ineos to UAE and Poggy, but we were not close to what they're doing. We focused on one race a year. We won the Tour de France but we weren't that dominant. Poggy from UAE to Paris-Roubaix to Liege and goes bam, bam, bam, knocks seven shades of s*** out of everyone.' Alongside his podcast with Geraint Thomas and his punditry duties – Rowe will be part of TNT Sports' coverage for the final week of the Tour – he is a sporting director for French team Decalthon AG2R after hanging up the bike last year. So what would he choose now if he was on Visma's team bus: keep attacking Pogacar knowing it's doomed to fail? Or switch focus to stage wins and a podium place? 'I think their theory is, we will apply pressure any moment we can apply pressure over the course of three weeks. And the end result, they hope, is that in the third week, Poggy has a bad day in cracks. That's their battle plan and I think they have to continue to live by that battle plan, and their belief is that after 18 stages, Vingegaard deals with the fatigue better than Poggy does. They have to continue with that and hope that they do have a Poggy ' I'm dead ' situation [when Vingegaard cracked Pogacar on stage 17 in 2023]. That's what they're praying for, that's what they're banking on. 'For a guy who's won the Tour de France twice, does Vingegaard care if he finishes second or third or fourth? No. I've been in these situations with big leaders where they go, I'd rather risk everything to win and finish 10th than settle for third. But I would probably open the door up slightly to stage wins, like they did with Simon Yates a few days ago. I would open up a little bit – let's start taking the breakaway opportunities, obviously Wout [van Aert] can compete in the sprints and the punchy finishes. So continue with the battle plan, but maybe just put a little bit of focus on stage wins.' The beauty of the Tour de France is in the many sub-plots that fizzle in the background, and there is plenty of intrigue left in Jonathan Milan's fight for a first green jersey, in Lenny Martinez's bold bid to be the King of the Mountains, in Oscar Onley's surprise podium bid, in the handful of stage wins that Pogacar decides not to have for himself. But the bigger picture is how quickly Pogacar is surging towards Mark Cavendish ' record tally of 35 stages. When Cavendish finally set the new record last summer, Pogacar was one of the first to congratulate him. 'Don't beat it,' Cavendish joked to Pogacar. 'I won't!' came the response with a grin. Pogacar had 14 stage wins then; now he has 21, with one or two more surely due this week, and why not: career-threatening injury can strike at any time in this absurd sport and Pogacar must make hay while the sun shines on the Alpine roads ahead. He is right to scoff at suggestions that he should hold back and allow lesser riders in breakaways to triumph. 'I'm paid to win, not give away races,' he said last week. Cavendish's record was described by many including these pages as insurmountable. But nobody counted on Pogacar being this dominant, on rewriting what's possible in the sport. Aged 26, he could run at a modest 2.5 stages per Tour and have the record sewn up by the time he's ready to ride off into the sunset. 'He's not going to be riding the Tour de France when he's 35 – maybe he will but I don't think so. But certainly until he's 31, 32, he could still be winning stages of the Tour, so it's vulnerable. If I was Cav, I'd be sleeping with one eye open.'
Times
6 days ago
- Sport
- Times
As always with Dave Brailsford, the big questions remain unanswered
For journalists at the Tour de France, moseying about the team buses in the morning is a ritual. An opportunity for a catch-up with people you may see only at this time of year. There is also a chance to interview sports directors and staff members. Riders remain inside the buses, which is understandable. They've got a race to ride. For the past two weeks I've avoided the Ineos Grenadiers bus. The one time I stopped and chatted, it was because he wasn't anywhere to be seen. I am talking about Sir Dave Brailsford, who returned to the team two weeks ago after five years away. Journalists who have spoken to him sense that he has come back from his time in football a little chastened. Cycling was the hometown girl he fell in love with as a teenager. They enjoyed a great life until his head was turned by a more glamorous woman from a very rich family. We are speaking, of course, of Manchester United. Alas, the rich lady grew tired of him. So here he is back with his first love, trying to start again, but she has changed, grown older and is not quite who she once was. I avoid Brailsford because I know he is not going to answer questions that need to be answered. At the time he founded the professional cycling team Team Sky, he insisted that it would never cross the ethical line. In 2016 my colleague Matt Lawton discovered that in 2011 a secret package had been couriered by a staffer at British Cycling from Manchester to Team Sky, who were then racing in France. When Lawton asked Brailsford about the package, the Team Sky boss said: 'If you didn't write the story, is there anything else that could be done?' Decide for yourself what he meant by that. As you can about the 40mg injections of the corticosteroid triamcinolone, given to Bradley Wiggins days before the start of the Tour de France in 2011 and 2012. Team Sky claimed in an application to cycling's governing body that the rider needed the medication for therapeutic reasons. Wiggins suffered from allergies. Medical experts question the appropriateness of the treatment, especially as triamcinolone is also a performance-enhancing drug. A 2018 report by the digital, culture, media and sport select committee into Team Sky and British Cycling was damning. It said the use of the triamcinolone 'was not to treat medical need, but to improve his [Wiggins's] power-to-weight ratio ahead of the race'. It added: 'This does not constitute a violation of the World Anti-Doping Agency [Wada] code, but it does cross the ethical line that David Brailsford says he himself drew for Team Sky. In this case, and contrary to the testimony of David Brailsford in front of the committee, we believe that drugs were being used by Team Sky, within the Wada rules, to enhance the performance of riders, and not just to treat medical need.' There are, of course, many other unresolved issues. Why did Dr Richard Freeman, then a senior doctor working with both Team Sky and British Cycling, order a consignment of 30 testosterone sachets in 2011 and have them delivered to the National Cycling Centre in Manchester? After the testosterone was discovered, Freeman lied that it had been sent to him in error and the head of medicine at Team Sky, Dr Steve Peters, asked Freeman to get the supplier to confirm this in writing. Peters would later say that he didn't tell Brailsford about the testosterone. That was remarkable. And, of course, the testosterone delivery had been ordered by Freeman. It was strange that Freeman should have been the one person who had to properly explain his part in all that went down at Team Sky and British Cycling. In a 'fit to practice' case initiated by the General Medical Council and processed by the Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service, the tribunal concluded that the testosterone was ordered for the purpose to giving it to an athlete. Freeman lost his licence to practice. Mary O'Rourke, the barrister in Freeman's corner, believed Brailsford should have been a witness at the tribunal. 'Dave Brailsford is the spectre missing at these proceedings,' she said in her summing-up. 'He would have been able to answer an awful lot of questions about what was going on at British Cycling and Team Sky.' Subsequent to losing his medical licence, Freeman received a four-year sport's ban from UK Anti-Doping. Freeman loses his career, Brailsford gets a knighthood. The knight of the realm has never said a bad word about his team's former doctor. You may wonder why all this is recalled right now. Well, other journalists were beating a path to the Ineos Grenadiers bus last week. They were lining up to ask Brailsford about his head soigneur, David Rozman. An investigation by the German state broadcaster ARD had linked, but not named, a Team Sky soigneur with the doping doctor Mark Schmidt. At a Munich court in January 2021, Schmidt was found guilty of 24 counts of using doping products and given a prison sentence of four years and ten months. During the case there was evidence of 2012 mobile phone messages between Schmidt and a person involved in cycling. According to an ARD report, the person Schmidt was communicating with worked for Team Sky. They said they knew the person, but because of a statute of limitation law in Germany, they could not name the Sky employee. Last weekend the Dublin-based Sunday Independent said the person involved was Rozman, then the Sky soigneur who is still with Ineos Grenadiers. The most concerning message was one from Rozman to Schmidt asking if he still had the 'stuff that Milram [a team he had previously worked with] used' and if he could 'bring it for the boys'. Later in the week Ineos issued a statement saying it was aware of the allegations surrounding a team member: 'These allegations have not to date been presented to the team by any appropriate authority, however the team has made a formal request to the International Testing Agency (ITA) to request any information it considers relevant. The team reiterates its policy of zero tolerance to any breach of the applicable Wada codes, historic or current.' That wasn't an untypical response from the team. Ineos could have said it had spoken to Rozman and asked if he had been party to the now much publicised conversation with Schmidt in 2012. Had he written those messages? If he had, what did he mean when asking Schmidt if he could bring stuff 'for the boys'? Rozman, they say, remains part of their Tour de France team. And so the journalists at the Tour tried to get some answers. The first question to Brailsford about the latest controversy drew a straightforward: 'I am not commenting on that.' Another journalist wondered if it was fair to have the staff member (Rozman) taking so much heat? Brailsford replied: 'Did you hear what I just said? I won't be commenting.' As he retreated to the sanctuary of the bus, Brailsford said, 'F***ing hell, guys, come on.' The questions, as always, remain unanswered.
