Two in custody in Belgian raids

Additional searches by Belgian authorities have turned up more prohibited substances, and two people remain in custody following this week's raids near Kortrijk. Authorities are claiming to have found just the 'tip of the iceberg', and are holding ex-racers Rik Coppens and Pierre Herinne as alleged dealers. The pair, both 38 years old, will appear before the magistrate on Saturday. Meanwhile, the Quickstep soigneur Johan Molly and another former racer David Windels were released.

Authorities allege that Herinne sold doping products to Coppens, who would then split his sales between East and West Flanders. "Yesterday [Thursday -ed.] we have tackled the smaller dealers, today we sit a step higher," said the spokesman for the Kortrijk authorities Tom Janssens of the continuing investigation. "This does not mean that the riders are on ice. We searching for the dealers now, but at a later stage we will seek out the users."

The arrests follow Thursday's raids on homes that allegedly turned up large amounts of prohibited substances, and saw 13 people brought in for questioning. Quickstep soigneur Johan Molly was the most notable name on the list, but the team vigorously denied that he had any involvement in the dealings.