The first stage of the Tour de France had finished but the wheels were still spinning at Dublin Castle last night as a spokesman for Festina, Bruno Roussel, continued in his efforts to put the brakes on the drugs story which has cast a shadow over the team since day one of the Tour.

Belgian masseur, Willy Voet, was arrested on Thursday following the discovery of over 400 vials of illegal drugs at a customs check point on the France-Belgium border. Voet, who normally looks after Festina's four-time King of the Mountains-winner Richard Virenque, is currently in police custody in the northern town of Loos, near Lille.

It has been claimed by news agencies that the police haul included capsules of Erythropoietin (EPO), the hormone which increases the oxygen content of the blood as well as anabolic steroids and a number of syringes.

It has also been reported that Voet had travelled from Festina's headquarters to Switzerland and then Germany to buy the products before setting off to the port of Calais. Furthermore, claims indicate that the police seized a number of substances at the Team's headquarters in Lyon late on Friday. This has been confirmed by Roussel but he insists that the substances that the police discovered are innocent. Roussel yesterday claimed total ignorance about Voet's activities and stubbornly defended Festina, the number one cycling team in the world.

"They (police) searched a service room in our headquarters in Lille and found something. I have a list of what they found. I have given it to our team doctor and he has told me that I do not have to worry about it and nor does the team. This type of search has been done to other teams as well as us. So it is quite normal.

"We have very famous riders in our team and all the results we have had, and are going to have, are linked to their efforts. We are very depressed by all of the adverse press about the team being linked to the doping. I do not believe that those results are linked to doping. I don't want suspicion to be thrown onto my professional riders.

"I don't want to speak about the person who is involved (Voet) because my advice has been not to talk about it. No one has informed me about the facts of the matter. All of the things I know have come from the press. Perhaps when we arrive in France the authorities will want to listen to me."

When asked whether he thought the team should take some action about what is now an international scandal and whether he knew anything about the destination of the substances, Roussel replied: "No. We don't know what to do. We are very depressed about this incident. It is a story that goes beyond us. We have spoken to Festina and they support us. They have asked me to stay close to our riders. I don't know what consequences it will have on the team.

"And, no, I don't want to answer questions about the destination of the substances. I think the police will answer them. I don't want to say anything. But I have nothing to hide."

Roussel also complained that people were rushing to pass judgement before all the facts were known.

"The team is surprised and hurt by the conclusions that have been drawn. Some of the statements made have even been defamatory, and it's for that reason that we have asked a lawyer to act on our behalf. There is no question of me leaving the tour and my cyclists, except if the police want me for questioning.

The Tour de France director, Jean Marie Leblanc, tried to play down the incident over the last two days and said that there was no question of banning the team from the race until the findings of the inquiry were known. Privately, however, he said to be livid with the Festina team.

He urged people to calm down and not to jump to any conclusions before knowing the facts of the case and that there was no question of penalising the team, as it was not a rider who committed the offence and that it was perpetrated hundreds of miles away from where the race is currently being staged.

The whole drugs issue could not have come at a worse time for the Festina team and cycling. Earlier this year Roussel strongly defended one of his riders Christophe Moreau after he tested positive for anabolic steroids. Roussel alleged that Moreau, who came fifth in Saturday's time trial around Dublin, had been the victim of sabotage. Yesterday, he revisited the same theme when asked if he thought sabotage was involved in the latest crisis.

"Yes, I feel so, but I want to be sure. The story, at the moment, goes beyond me."

It appears that the judicial inquiry into the affair is focusing on charges relating to the "import of banned substances". The inquiry opened on Friday.