Geraint Thomas has said Ineos Grenadiers didn't deal in a "great" way with the revelation that their head soigneur David Rozman had links to a known doping doctor.
In a wide-ranging interview with The Guardian, published on Tuesday evening, the recently-retired Tour de France winner said that he "wasn't surprised" that Rozman had links to Mark Schmidt, who was convicted after Operation Aderlass.
During this summer's Tour de France, Ineos Grenadiers confirmed that Rozman was to be interviewed again by the International Testing Agency (ITA) into allegations that he had close links to Schmidt.
Reports initially came from German public service broadcaster ARD in June that Rozman, who has been at Team Sky, then Ineos Grenadiers from 2011, invited the German doctor Mark Schmidt to the team’s hotel during the 2012 Tour de France, which was won by Team Sky’s Bradley Wiggins.
In 2021, Schmidt was handed a prison sentence of four years and 10 months as part of the Operation Aderlass case, which ruled he had orchestrated a multi-sport doping ring.
"It wasn’t great, the way the team dealt with it," Thomas said. "But it’s a tough one if you get a doctor that’s been in cycling for a while. I’m not saying they’re all dodgy, by any means, but if someone’s been in the sport 15 years, the possibility of them having some sort of link [to a drugs’ cheat] is pretty high.
"It’s been tough, all these things happening over the years with the team. But, as a rider, all you can do is worry about yourself and the next race."
At the Tour, Ineos initially refused to comment on the allegations, before confirming that Rozman had been invited for a follow-up interview by the ITA.
A spokesperson for the team said in July: "Both David and the team will of course co-operate with the ITA and any other authority. The team reiterates its zero-tolerance policy and is unable to comment further at this time."
Asked if he was surprised by the revelation, Thomas said: "I wasn’t surprised that he knew some doctor that ended up being a bit suspect. But just because you know someone doesn’t mean you’re guilty. I was surprised at how quickly it blew up and the bad press he was getting."
When it was put to him that legitimate questions were being asked of Ineos, Thomas replied: "Yes, but I think it could have been looked at without it all coming out. I think if you looked at other teams as intensely, then there will be lots of questions about them. It shows we’re held to a different standard than a lot of other teams."
The 39-year-old is expected to join the management team at Ineos Grenadiers following his retirement.
