Team Ineos Grenadiers has issued a short statement following revelations that a senior staff member met with a convicted doping doctor during the 2012 Tour de France.
The story, first reported by journalist Paul Kimmage in The Sunday Independent, linked long-time team soigneur David Rozman to Dr. Mark Schmidt, a central figure in the Operation Aderlass blood-doping investigation. The basis of the story relies on German court documents. They are cited in both The Independent and a television documentary aired by German broadcaster ARD. Apparently, Rozman arranged to meet Schmidt at the team’s hotel during the 2012 race.
Kimmage is a former professional cyclist, who raced from 1986 to 1986. After his cycling career, he became a journalist and wrote Rough Ride, a book about his personal experience with drug use in the sport. He has since been an outspoken critic of doping in cycling.
No direct reply, only a statement from team
According to the article, Ineos team principal Dave Brailsford declined to comment. The team also did not respond to Kimmage’s inquiries prior to publication.
On Thursday night, the team released a 75-word statement that did not directly address the meeting or any of the details reported.
“Ineos Grenadiers Cycling Team is aware of recent media allegations relating to the 2012 season and a member of its staff,” the statement read. “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.”
Rozman, a Slovenian masseur, has worked with the team since 2011, dating back to its years as Team Sky, and was present at this year’s Tour. While ARD’s broadcast did not name the staff member due to German privacy laws, The Independent identified him as Rozman based on documentation from Schmidt’s 2020 trial.
The court evidence reportedly included a number of text messages between Rozman and Schmidt, who was later sentenced to five years in prison for his role in the doping operation.
Brailsford, who returned to Ineos this summer after a stint with Manchester United, oversaw the team’s dominant years from 2012 to 2019, when it won seven Tours de France, including four with Chris Froome. According to Kimmage, Rozman is believed to have worked…
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