According to Bahrain Victorious, the Tour de France team hotel and vehicles in Denmark were searched at 5:30 a.m. Thursday, the night before the opening stage in Copenhagen, at the request of French prosecutors. The homes of a number of riders and team staff were also searched by police on Monday before they left for the Tour de France; the team is under investigation following a similar search during the 2021 race.

The Danish website Ekstrabladet (opens in new tab) revealed that they were at the Bahrain Victorias Hotel during the search and that the riders and staff were detained in an area near the team vehicles in the parking lot.

"Officers searched all team vehicles, staff and players' rooms. The team cooperated fully with the officers' requests and the search was completed within two hours," Burleen Victorious said in a statement.

"Nothing was seized from the team.

"Following the police search, the team is now looking forward to focusing on the biggest and best cycling race in the world, the Tour de France. The team does not intend to comment further on the matter."

"The team has no further comment on the matter.

The Danish police confirmed their actions in a brief statement.

"At the request of the court from the French police, Copenhagen police conducted a search of the hotel in Bremby as part of an ongoing investigation in France," said Inspector Danny Reiss.

"As this is an investigation being conducted by the French police, we will need to contact the French police for further comment."

According to a statement from the Marseille Public Prosecutor's Office issued after the hotel was searched during last year's Tour de France, the investigation "may be related to the possibility that members of 'Team Bahrain Victorious' have 'obtained, transported, possessed or imported' banned substances or methods for use by athletes without a valid reason." The case is related to.

The team may not have elaborated further comments on the investigation in its statement on Thursday, but earlier this week, after Bahrain Victorious confirmed that the homes of its athletes and staff had been searched, the team said:

"Team Bahrain Victorious always operates according to the highest standards of professionalism in sport, including the integrity of all professional members and competitors. The team cooperates constructively in all proceedings and with all competent authorities."

"The investigation into team members, which began almost a year ago and yielded no results, continues just before the start of the most important cycling race, the Tour de France, and has damaged the reputation of individuals and Team Bahrain Victorious. Due to the recent investigation, the team feels that the timing of this investigation is intentionally aimed at harming the team's reputation."

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"The team has never, to date, been informed or received feedback from the Marseille Prosecutor's Office on the progress or results of the investigation. Bahrain Victorious has repeatedly requested access to the files and to know the status of the investigation, without success."

"The team has not received any feedback from the Prosecutor's Office in Marseille.