Tue, July 29, 2025
Head carer of INEOS Grenadiers under investigation
David Rozman, head soigneur of INEOS Grenadiers, has left the Tour de France due to an investigation by the International Testing Agency (ITA) regarding a previous relationship he had to convicted German doping doctor Mark Schmidt.
The ITA invited Rozman, one of INEOS Grenadiers’ longest serving staff, for an interview concerning alleged texts between him and Schmidt from 2012 when the professional cycling team were known as Team Sky. INEOS became the sole owner of the team in 2019, and the team was rebranded as INEOS Grenadiers. Rozman allegedly invited Schmidt to the Team Sky hotel during the 2012 Tour de France, according to Bike Radar.
The Guardian reported that Rozman had spoken to the ITA in April and was not under investigation, but “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.”
The media allegations concern a documentary created by German broadcaster ARD which references an unnamed man who works for INEOS Grenadiers and who, in 2012, shared incriminating texts with Schmidt which were revealed by the Operation Aderlass trial.
Operation Aderlass, or Operation Bloodletting in English, was an investigation in 2019 into doping practices carried out by Schmidt. Athletes received illegal blood transfusions for the purpose of enhancing performances, with several of them later confessing. Schmidt eventually faced 150 charges and 4 years and 10 months in prison.
The documentary also alleged that Rozman sent a text message to Schmidt asking if he “still have [sic] any of the stuff Milram used during the races? If so, can you bring it for the boys?” Milram was a professional cycling team from 2006 to 2010. Its rider Alessandro Petacchi was found guilty of using the banned substance salbutamol in 2007, as reported by Bike Radar.
Even though the documentary did not explicitly name Rozman, Paul Kimmage, former cyclist, cited Rozman in an article he wrote for the Irish Independent Newspaper.
INEOS voiced that it promptly commissioned a thorough review by an external law firm when the ITA first contacted Rozman in April.
It elaborated: “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.”
Rozman has worked with athletes as high up as the four-time Tour winner Chris Froome, for example, 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.
