Customs Officials Search Vehicles Of Three Tour Teams

LESTELLE-de-SAINT-MARTORY, France (AP) _ Customs officials stopped and searched vehicles of at least three Tour de France cycling teams Monday. <br/><br/>The checks took place on the A64 highway in southwest

Monday, July 23rd 2007, 7:46 am

By: News On 6

LESTELLE-de-SAINT-MARTORY, France (AP) _ Customs officials stopped and searched vehicles of at least three Tour de France cycling teams Monday.

The checks took place on the A64 highway in southwest France, near the Spanish border. Customs officials were seen checking vehicles of the Rabobank, Discovery Channel and Astana teams.

The officials declined comment about the search, which brought back memories of 1998 when authorities found a stash of performance-enhancing drugs in a Festina team car, plunging the Tour in crisis and nearly derailing the event.

In Paris, a French Customs Office spokeswoman, Stephanie Santolaria, refused any comment, saying that policy prevented her from even acknowledging such a search.

Monday's operation came during the 15th stage, with Tour leader Michael Rasmussen heading the peleton on the 196-kilometer (122-mile) trek from Foix to Loudenvielle-Le Louron.

The Danish cyclist, who rides for Rabobank, held a lead of 2 minutes, 23 seconds over Discovery Channel rider Alberto Contador after both had contested a tight finish on Sunday's 14th stage.

Contador tore away in a mountaintop finish and outsprinted his chief rival.

In Contador, the Discovery Channel team may have found a successor to seven-time Tour winner Lance Armstrong in the year the team's sponsorship deal runs out.

``I'm certain Contador will win the Tour in the future,'' Discovery's sporting director Johan Bruyneel said.

Contador was toe-to-toe with race leader Michael Rasmussen when the pair neared the summit of the 122-mile ride from Mazamet to Plateau de Beille on Sunday, having distanced themselves from rivals Cadel Evans, Levi Leipheimer and Andreas Kloedenthe in the first of three tortuous Pyrenees stages.

Then, with 200 meters left, Contador sized up Rasmussen, made his move down the right, boxed the Dane in next to the barriers, and left him behind.

It seemed like a replay of Armstrong's winning ride up to Le Grand Bornand in 2004 in the Alps.

Armstrong had dropped his teammate Floyd Landis after he'd slogged for him up the hills, and then the American overtook Kloeden at the top of the final ascent just as the two turned into a corner. Armstrong stormed past him and fist-pumped gleefully at the line.

Contador pounded his fist twice on his heart after winning in 5 hours, 25 seconds, 48 seconds, and closing to within 2:23 of Rasmussen.

``This is the Tour de France. You don't give any presents,'' Rasmussen said. ``The Plateau de Beille is not something you give away. It was a very well deserved win.''

Even Bruyneel feels Contador has exceeded expectations.

Bruyneel once sent Armstrong an e-mail shortly before the 1999 Tour predicting that Armstrong would be on the Tour podium. He clearly sees a winner in Contador, and maybe even a similar independence of spirit.

``When I attacked, it was not programmed by Bruyneel,'' Contador said. ``I chose the moment.''