A controversial caregiver for INEOS Grenadiers has left the Tour de France. David Rozman is accused of involvement in a doping case from 2012 and linked to the convicted doping doctor Mark Schmidt.
Rozman is the head caregiver at INEOS Grenadiers and one of the longest-serving staff members at the British team. The newspaper Irish Independent reported last week that the Slovenian would have a link with the doping scandal that became known under the name Operation Aderlass.
That case revolved around illegal blood transfusions, carried out by Schmidt. The German doctor treated athletes from multiple sports, including cyclists. In 2021, Schmidt received a prison sentence of four years and ten months.
According to the German TV station ARD and the Irish Independent, Schmidt exchanged multiple messages with Rozman in 2012. A month before the Tour of that year, Rozman would have written to the doctor: “Do you still have some of that stuff that Milram (a former cycling team, ed.) used during races? If so, can you bring some for the boys?”
Despite many questions from journalists in the Tour, the leadership of INEOS Grenadiers remained silent about Rozman in recent days. As a result, INEOS rider Thymen Arensman was asked at a press conference after his stage victory in the Pyrenees whether Rozman was still in the Tour. “You should ask the management that,” the Dutchman replied.
INEOS finally comes with an explanation
Thursday, during the queen stage of the Tour, INEOS Grenadiers finally came with an explanation about Rozman. The soigneur has left the Tour de France because the independent anti-doping agency ITA has invited him to talk about the case from 2012.
“Following recent allegations in the media, David has received a request from the ITA to come for an interview,” the British team reported. “Therefore, he has withdrawn from competition activities and has left the Tour.”
INEOS Grenadiers added that they have not received any formal evidence. The team has also not been asked to cooperate with the investigation. INEOS says it has hired an external law firm to investigate the allegations against Rozman.
“An ITA employee informally contacted David in April 2025,” the team wrote. “That employee asked about alleged communication from the past. Although ITA emphasized at that time that David was not a suspect, we immediately hired a law firm to conduct a thorough investigation.”
Team Sky dominated the Tour in the previous decade
INEOS Grenadiers dominated the Tour de France in the previous decade, when the team was still called Team Sky. The British formation won the biggest cycling race in the world for the first time in 2012 with Bradley Wiggins. After that, Chris Froome (2013, 2015, 2016 and 2017), Geraint Thomas (2018) and Egan Bernal (2019) also took the yellow to Paris.
From that time, multiple links with possible doping cases have emerged, although no rider from Team Sky or INEOS Grenadiers has been punished for the use of prohibited substances.
In 2023, Richard Freeman received a suspension of four years because he had violated the doping rules in his period as team doctor of Team Sky.
Four years earlier, the British anti-doping agency, after an investigation of fourteen months, did not come to a conclusion about a mysterious plastic bag that had been delivered to Team Sky before the 2011 Tour and possibly contained prohibited substances.
In the current edition of the Tour, Arensman is the best INEOS rider in the standings. The Dutchman is thirteenth.