More than two months after the French searched Nairo Quintana's hotel room during the Tour de France, his Arkea Samsic team manager, Emmanuel Hubert, says there has been no further news on the investigation.

Investigators from the Central Office for the Fight Against Threats to the Environment and Public Health (OCLAESP) searched Quintana and his brother Dyer's room at a hotel near Meribel after the 17th stage, along with Winner Anacona, the team's Soigner room, and Alcare Sumsic's team car The team searched the area along with.

The search revealed "many health products containing drugs (...) and in particular methods that could be identified as doping" were found, and the team doctor and Soinier were placed in preliminary custody.

In an interview with Ouest France (opens in new tab), Hubert was asked about the status of the investigation and said he did not know any more details than in September. He said, "The only thing I can see is that everyone is free and everyone has the right to practice their profession.

According to news reports, the raid uncovered "100 ml of saline solution and injection equipment"; UCI's "no-needle" policy prohibits any injection "without a clear and accepted medical indication" and must be reported to UCI within 24 hours.

Nairo Quintana said that authorities seized only legal vitamin supplements and found no doping substances, claiming that he had been a "clean cyclist throughout my sporting life."

Hubert admitted that the raid "was not a pleasant time to live with," and said, "It was a bad time. I want this bad time to end."

Not even the Quintana brothers understood the significance of the search. They were interviewed and released, but "they were not in police custody," says Hubert. The authorities did not give them access to any part of the documents.

"Either something happened and that's it, or it's over. Either way, we ask that justice be done. But unfortunately, I think that preliminary investigations can go on for months," Hubert said. [I believe more than ever in the presumption of innocence. Now I have a team, a staff, to keep all this going. I have people to work on and my sporting life has to move forward."

Hubert said that unless something is proven, Quintana will still be on the team in 2021, adding, "If he is going to be prosecuted, I think he already has been."

He defended calling Quintana's doctor instead of the team's usual doctor, Jean-Jacques Menouet, who was away on COVID-19, and said Christian Bouard helped rehabilitate Nairo Quintana after he crashed in July.

Hubert said that for now the team's sponsors still support him and he is operating as normal, but the team turned down the chance to get a World Tour license with the dissolution of the CCC team and their roster will be reduced in 2021.

"We got an offer to buy back the license, but it's not our job to do that. If we do join [the world tour], it will be solely due to sporting progress."

Hubert said the upcoming season for the Pro Continental team is complicated by the fact that NTT is back as Qhubeka Assos.

"If they join the WorldTour, the WorldTour will again have 19 teams and only one Pro Continental team (Alpecin Phoenix) will qualify for the Grand Tour as the best Pro Continental team in 2020. On the other hand, if NTT does not join the World Tour, there will be 18 teams in the World Tour, and the two Pro Continental teams (Alpecin Phoenix and us) will automatically participate in all Grand Tours. Our team has the size to participate in at least two Grand Tours next year."

If there are 19 world teams in 2021, Alcare Samsic could face stiff competition from Total Direct Energie and B&B Hôtels Vital Concept for the two wildcard slots in the Tour de France.

"I'm confident. But honestly, I hope it won't be a three-horse race. I think all the teams in contention deserve a good start. Each has to find their place. "

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