Sky/Ineos Head Carer of 14 years discovered as member of Aderlass doping ring (Megathread)

[Tim Cahill]

04/06/2025 - Brailsford takes step back from Manchester United to return to Ineos -

Dave Brailsford to step back from Manchester United and return to Ineos

Jim Ratcliffe is planning shake-up at Old Trafford with Brailsford taking up his old role as director of sport at Ineos

www.theguardian.com

21/06/2025 - ARD investegation into doping -

Aicar and "extraterrestrials": ARD documentary reignites doping discussion

"Doping Top Secret: In the Slipstream" - Aicar and "extraterrestrials": ARD documentary reignites doping discussion

Cycling insiders have spent years insisting that professional cycling has learned the lessons of its dark past. New research from the ARD doping editorial team concludes differently.

www.sportschau.de

"Medico Tehna": Slovenian company again under doping spotlight

"Doping Top Secret: In the Slipstream" - "Medico Tehna": Slovenian company again under doping spotlight

In the 2010s, a medical technology company in Ljubljana was a point of contact for Mark S., the Erfurt blood doping doctor. The ARD documentary "In the Slipstream" shows: "Medico Tehna" is still open to dubious business today.

www.sportschau.de

German blood doping ring accomplice a major figure in cycling - Ineos implication

"Doping Top Secret: In the slipstream" - German blood doping ring accomplice a major figure in cycling

ARD can reveal that numerous members or customers of the dismantled Erfurt blood doping network have escaped punishment. An accomplice of doping doctor Mark S. has been working undisturbed for years at leading team Ineos Grenadiers.

www.sportschau.de

13/07/2025 - Paul Kimmage names Ineos head carer of 14 years'David Rozman' as accomplice in Aderlass doping ring

Paul Kimmage: Revealing the links between the Team Sky masseur and a convicted doping doctor at the Tour de France

It was late last Sunday evening when Sebastian Krause arrived in Lille. He had taken a flight from Munich, and a train from Paris and left first thing the next morning in a car to Dunkirk.

www.independent.ie

https://archive.is/UMfAa

14/07/2025 - Rozman wipes social media, Froome deletes all references to Rozman

https://twitter.com/x/status/1944719442677497894

View: https://x.com/Tim_Cahill93/status/1944719442677497894

https://twitter.com/x/status/1945168516690203126

View: https://x.com/NairoInGreen/status/1945168516690203126



16/07/2025 - Brailsford stonewalling all questions regarding affair

Dave Brailsford won’t talk about the 2012 Tour de France

After an ARD investigation linked a longtime staffer to a doctor at the heart of a doping ring, the team has refused to answer questions about the claims.

escapecollective.com

View: https://open.spotify.com/episode/4UzNKcFJ0EzvXc8y4RMc2F?si=RqBm8_YxSS24O0WWISiqLA&nd=1&dlsi=9eb5fb3bcd544b0f
(38:00 Onwards)

Rozman/Dr Schmidt found to have met up 'For a beer' at the team hotel the night before Ineos' win on LPDBF in 2012/Proof from roadbook

https://twitter.com/x/status/1945436658624614863

View: https://x.com/PaulMoutarde/status/1945436658624614863


17/07/2025 - Ineos statement

https://twitter.com/x/status/1945893856353944012

18/07/2025 - Story picked up by The Times, Rozman texts

Ineos masseur’s texts with doping mastermind before 2012 Tour de France

David Rozman, now head carer at Ineos Grenadiers, exchanged messages with disgraced doctor Mark Schmidt when Bradley Wiggins won race for Team Sky

www.thetimes.com

Background on Rozman

David Rožman: S kolesarjem moraš biti odkrit

Slovenski maser se je s Chrisom Froomom veselil številnih zmag na največjih dirkah, zdaj vodi ekipo maserjev Ineosa.

www.delo.si

RemovePaywall | Free online paywall remover

Remove Paywall, free online paywall remover. Get access to articles without having to pay or login. Works on Bloomberg and hundreds more.

www.removepaywall.com

Ian Boswell: Chris Froome pushed me to the limit training in Africa

Ian Boswell joined Chris Froome during an early-season training block in South Africa and said it was an 'eye opening' experience

www.cyclingweekly.com

Slovenec, ki masira enega največjih kolesarskih zvezdnikov

Nekdanji kolesar kranjske Save David Rožman je maser v eni najuspešnejših in finančno najmočnejših kolesarskih ekip. Pri Skyu skrbi za njenega prvega moža Chrisa Frooma.

siol.net

 

[Tim Cahill]

To Be Continued, please link if anyone finds anything else.

I have uploaded Rozman's followers and following from Instagram onto a CSV. Not an implication of anything to be clear but worth looking into. Lots of Slovenian cycling links -

IGFollow_rozman3946_132_followers.csv

Shared with Jumpshare

jumpshare.com

IGFollow_d.rozman_235_following.csv

Shared with Jumpshare

jumpshare.com

 

[Ilmaestro99]

Thanks for starting the thread

 

[Dazed and Confused]

Good job, Cahill.

 

[Ilmaestro99]

Bernard Kohl claimed Schmidt oversaw the blood doping during the 2008 tour de France on gerolsteiner

Danilo Hondo admitted to blood doping under the guidance of Schmidt

Stefan denifl admitted that Schmidt helped him to blood dope.

Georg preidler admitted that Schmidt helped him to blood dope.

Pettacchi, Koren and bozic were all given bans by the UCI for doping rules in 2012-13 under the guidance of Schmidt. That was when he was also present at the team sky tour de France hotels.

Kristian durasek was banned for blood doping under Schmidt in 2017

 

[ontheroad]

The plot thickens. There’s definitely a great movie in this when it’s over.

 

[Rob5091]

Thanks for starting the thread and doing a timeline. It's a lot easier to follow previous events with a timeline.

Rozman's doping supplier (Maestro Balthazar - from the TV cartoon show, Professor Balthaazar, I suppose) I would guess is a Slovenian or Balkan. The journalists in Slovenia should be all over this, but how popular would it be if their sporting hero Pogacar (and Roglic) are in a sport with hidden medical manipulation? Questions might get asked about the GOAT and the shiny, happy chap persona (not to mention his team).

I suppose we'll have to rely on the French to, once again, pop the PR bubble. I see L'Equipe have picked up the story.

 

[Tim Cahill]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1945893856353944012

Ineos attempt to paint this as a 'media allegation' when the information comes from court documents, an exercise in PR management.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

So is this guy connected to Humanplasma as well, or just Aderlass? As Schmidt obviously goes back to that if he's involved with Kohl. This would then tie him together with Menchov, who was one of those alleged to be involved in Humanplasma, hence his after-the-fact erasure from a number of races in the era... which then potentially links us to Team Rabobank and Geert Leinders, no?

 

[burning]

I did enjoy reading this thread, I wanted to say thanks here. I

I have not ever heard of him before, which makes me believe that he was smart to fly under the radar, but of course he was being sycophantic on social media on Froome because he thought he would not be noticed

 

[b0ydman]

Some exquisite breadcrumb, filekeeping and data here. Don't stop, there's probably a pulitzer for someone in this

In the modern digital era there have been too many cameras, too much posting on socials, too much digital footprint to hide from and for on line sleuths to put pieces together

The sport, as much as I enjoy (parts of) it, now is grotesque. Like a bad LA plastic surgery. The UCI and its parasites deserve to be exposed. Sky/ Ineos were an insult to us all then, as others were, and others currently are. Looking at you UAE but you aren't alone

I'm sure some right now are trying to put sauce back into bottles and there's signal, telegram and whatsapp messages with exclamation marks being sent. Good luck to them. I can see some knighthoods being handed back- you weren't THAT effing good.

Am old enough and jaded enough to have seen it before and during Armstrong, Armstrong, Hamilton, Millar..about to name the others we know of but what's the point we could go on for too long.

And today, another boring era dominated by the latest GOATs. What am I watching for now- some hope that a lesser known is lucky enough to keep a breakaway and jag a tour win? A massive cross wind lets a surprise break away form? Race Radio's stop working for an hour?

Yeah we get it, they need more than bread and water to entertain us for 21 days we understand that. But not this.

Its a humiliation ritual, and I'm simply not entertained

 

[Saint Unix]

Rozman sounds like he's just another member of the decades-old cast of no-name middlemen who are well below or even disconnected completely from the team's roster and leadership. Someone who flies totally under the radar or who has just enough of an excuse to always be around, but in a role minor enough that they avoid any major scrutiny. Armstrong's Motoman comes to mind, for example.

 

[Rob5091]

Re: Ineos press statement

The International Testing Agency was not formed until 2018 so 2012 is a bit before their time. Even so, they are the UCI's arm of anti-doping now, so Raudenski & Co should be all over this as they are desperate for a whistleblower to prove their worth. The court documents alone should warrent an investigation.

The bigger question is who should take this up? The UCI should do something, WADA should do something, ITA should definitely do something, but what about the Police and the legal ramifications? The doping task force of the Munich police lead the Schmidt investigation, so is it down to them?

How this is taken by Ineos new sponsor, Total Energies, would be interesting to know. Good timing!

Edit- with some time to read some more, I see that,
https://www.sportschau.de/doping/ge...indschatten-aderlass-text-1-englisch-100.html

The ITA, which has only been responsible for cycling since 2021, stated that it had investigated unspecified circumstances "in early 2025" after receiving "new information from the German authorities" – apparently after it had got wind of the ARD's investigations.

"The outcome of this investigation did not allow the ITA to refer a potential case to the UCI," both organisations said in almost identical statements. Apparently, their hands were tied due to the statute of limitations – no new grounds for suspicion were found.

also the German Police said,

Many of the suspected offences had already exceeded the statute of limitations under criminal law.

Ideally, Froome, Rozman and a whole bunch of Team Sky members (including support staff) from that time should be quized by ITA & UCI, because Rozman was n't the only guy at Sky who knew what was going on.
If ASO can threaten PCS because of their van, then Ineos can well get a fine for "bringing the sport into disrepute". (rule 28.1 https://storage-aso.lequipe.fr/ASO/cycling_tdf/tdf2025-reglement-v2.pdf )

 

[Squire]

If ASO can threaten PCS because of their van

I know this is off-topic, but what?!

On topic, it's nice to see some actual smoke and fire harking back to the glory days of The Clinic. There were so many shady connections around Team Sky that something more had to come up sooner or later. Guess we have to wait another ten or so years for some UAE stuff.

 

[Rico044]

In Thomas Dekker's book, at one point, he refers to his and Boogard's Slovenian connection for undetectable EPO. I wonder if it is this guy?

 

[Rob5091]

So what did ITA investigate with info from certain "German authorities" as Ineos want info -
Ineos statement -
https://cyclinguptodate.com/cycling...eam-has-made-a-formal-request-for-information

...the team has made a formal request to the International Testing Agency (ITA) to request any information it considers relevant.

https://www.sportschau.de/doping/ge...indschatten-aderlass-text-1-englisch-100.html

The ITA, which has only been responsible for cycling since 2021, stated that it had investigated unspecified circumstances "in early 2025" after receiving "new information from the German authorities" – apparently after it had got wind of the ARD's investigations.

 

[Rob5091]

I know this is off-topic, but what?!

ASO got all upset because of their logo on the side of the van -

https://twitter.com/x/status/1940801274532057495

View: https://x.com/ProCyclingStats/status/1940801274532057495/photo/1

 

[Tim Cahill]

Story has now reached the mainstream in Britain, next steps are usually the parliamentarians getting involved, but that depends on the right stuffy 'old money' mp getting offended about this all and kicking us a fuss.

Ineos masseur’s texts with doping mastermind before 2012 Tour de France

David Rozman, now head carer at Ineos Grenadiers, exchanged messages with disgraced doctor Mark Schmidt when Bradley Wiggins won race for Team Sky

www.thetimes.com

MATT LAWTON

Ineos masseur’s texts with doping mastermind before 2012 Tour de France​

David Rozman, now head carer at Ineos Grenadiers, exchanged messages with disgraced doctor Mark Schmidt when Bradley Wiggins won race for Team Sky

new

Rozman has worked for Ineos Grenadiers, previously known as Team Sky, since 2011
SCOTT MITCHELL/GETTY IMAGES
Matt Lawton
, Chief Sports Correspondent
Friday July 18 2025, 1.30pm, The Times
A senior staff member at Ineos Grenadiers, the cycling team led by Manchester United co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe, has been linked to the mastermind of a German blood-doping ring.
An investigation by the German national broadcaster ARD, screened on June 21, revealed how the alleged connection emerged during a trial in Munich in September 2020 which resulted in the conviction of a doctor, Mark Schmidt.
Based on detailed notes taken by an ARD reporter during the court case, the broadcaster revealed how correspondence between Schmidt and the employee, a carer with the outfit then known as Team Sky, had been presented as evidence.
While ARD did not report the name of the Slovenian, who is now head carer at Ineos Grenadiers, for legal reasons, the Sunday Independent and L’Équipe have since identified him as David Rozman. He has worked for the Manchester-based road cycling team since 2011.
It has been separately confirmed to The Times that Rozman was named in court as someone who it was said exchanged messages with Schmidt before and during the 2012 Tour de France.
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That year’s race was won by Bradley Wiggins, the first of seven Tour victories in eight years for the professional road team under the guidance of Sir Dave Brailsford. With Brailsford running the British Olympic cycling operation as well as Team Sky at the time, Rozman was also a member of the Team GB support staff who served as a carer for Wiggins and Chris Froome at the 2012 London Olympics. Carers act as assistants to professional riders and often, like Rozman, are trained as sports masseurs.
Schmidt was the central focus of Operation Aderlass, an investigation in Austria and Germany into allegations of doping practices in cycling and cross-country skiing. Based in Erfurt in eastern Germany, Schmidt had worked for a pro team called Milram, which before its disbandment in 2010 had been rocked by doping scandals.
In 2019, Danilo Hondo and Stefan Denifl both admitted to blood doping under the guidance of Schmidt during their professional cycling careers. Hondo said he had engaged in the illegal practice in 2011 when he was riding for Lampre-ISD.

Rozman was named in court as someone who it was said exchanged messages with Schmidt before and during the 2012 Tour de France
Schmidt stood trial in September 2020, confessing to almost all of the 150 counts against him. He admitted blood doping clients from as early as 2012. In court, Hondo said he had first met Schmidt in 2011 and, using the codename James Bond, had paid Schmidt €25,000 (about £21,500) for doping services. Schmidt was sentenced to four years and ten months in prison in January 2021.
Last Sunday, the Irish Independent published some of the messages referred to in court that were detailed in the notes taken by the ARD reporter. This included a text said to be from Rozman to Schmidt on June 9, 2012, a month before that year’s Tour.
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“Do you still have any of the stuff that Milram used during the races? If so, can you bring it for the boys?” it read.
On June 21, Rozman messaged Schmidt again. “Call me ASAP, as soon as possible,” it read. The next day Schmidt messaged Rozman. “What say team?”
Three days before the opening Tour stage, another message from Schmidt to Rozman read: “I also sent him now two tests from him in the same laboratory, Dresden, which are correct. With temperature history and a correct working sensor. I marked all, so he can see different. Have a good night. I will work some hours more, cheers.”
A series of exchanges between Rozman and Schmidt on July 6, the day Froome won the stage to La Planche des Belle Filles and Wiggins claimed the Yellow Jersey, detail how Schmidt visited the Team Sky hotel for “a beer” with Rozman.

Rozman, right, worked with riders including Wiggins and Froome, left
TIM DE WAELE/CORBIS VIA GETTY IMAGES
There was also evidence in court of a suspected drug dealer, based in Slovenia and codenamed Maestro Baltazar. It was alleged that Baltazar could supply banned substances such as Aicar, which is an alternative to the blood-boosting drug, EPO.
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On May 11 and 12, 2012, Rozman sent Schmidt messages with Baltazar’s contact details, including his email address and telephone number. “This is the contact,” he texted according to the notes taken by the ARD reporter. “He will be home 21.05, so he can contact him after this date. He will explain him everything.”
Team Sky, now Ineos Grenadiers, have always denied any wrongdoing but they have been rocked by a number of controversies linked to doping. Their former doctor Richard Freeman, also the British Olympic team doctor at the 2012 and 2016 Games, helped to arrange medical exemption certificates for Wiggins for a powerful corticosteroid before the 2011 and 2012 Tours. Freeman was struck off and received a doping suspension for ordering banned testosterone, knowing or believing it was for a rider, and then attempting to cover his tracks.
Froome tested positive for Salbutamol in 2017 but was later cleared of wrongdoing. Brailsford, who has returned to the Tour this year after stepping away to focus on Ratcliffe’s Manchester United project, expressed regret in 2013 for employing Dr Geert Leinders, who has since been banned for life by the United States Anti-Doping Agency for doping offences.

Brailsford, right, has returned to the Ineos cycling operation, having stepped away to work with Ratcliffe, left, at United
MIKE EGERTON/PA
When it came to conducting any further investigations in the wake of the trial, the authorities in Germany were limited by a five-year statute of limitations for the relevant criminal allegations and a ten-year limit on any potential anti-doping investigations.
According to ARD, the International Testing Agency which runs the anti-doping programme for the International Cycling Union said it has investigated unspecified circumstances “in early 2025” after receiving “new information from the German authorities” seemingly sparked by the broadcaster’s enquiries. “The outcome of this investigation did not allow the ITA to refer a potential case to the UCI,” both organisations said in almost identical statements, with the statute of limitations again thought likely to be an issue.
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The Times put a number of questions to Ineos Grenadiers, including whether they have conducted their own investigation into the allegations against Rozman. The Times has approached Rozman separately.
Ineos responded with a statement. “Ineos Grenadiers cycling team is aware of recent media allegations relating to the 2012 season and a member of its staff. These allegations have not to date been presented to the team by any appropriate authority, however the team has made a formal request to the International Testing Agency (ITA) to request any information it considers relevant. The team reiterates its policy of zero tolerance to any breach of the applicable Wada codes, historic or current.”
UK Anti-Doping has been asked if it has ever conducted an investigation into Rozman, either as a consequence of the trial in 2020 or since the ARD documentary. The agency has declined to comment, as has the British Olympic Association.

 

[E_F_]

ASO got all upset because of their logo on the side of the van -

https://twitter.com/x/status/1940801274532057495

View: https://x.com/ProCyclingStats/status/1940801274532057495/photo/1

Corporates can be completely insane... ASO also stopped filming the Devil for a number of years, right? Because he had become unofficial branding for the Tour, and they obviously couldn't have that... Wouldn't want the race to appear to be an organic cultural phenomenon or something - what horror!

 

[Tim Cahill]

hey genius, where do you see connection with pog and rogla other than all being slovenians ?

Rozman is friends with the Hauptman family, Pogacar's personal masseur/best mate Žiga Jerman and Boštjan Kavčnik.

Proof of nothing no, and may be innocent but connected in some way at least and worthy of enquiry.

Check his followers;

Login • Instagram

Welcome back to Instagram. Sign in to check out what your friends, family & interests have been capturing & sharing around the world.

www.instagram.com

 

[Tim Cahill]

may be innocent ? are you *** kidding me
you think if Pog is doping he is getting stuff from some ineos masseur, I thought Gianetti is the main man here ?; the stupidity of this subforum is really glowing sometimes.
What about Rogla ? does his grandma and Rozman grandma go to the same bingo events ?

The masseur is part of a network of individuals, you might want to read a few of the articles before getting so upset. Can you at least consider rewording this too, it's hard to respond to such a marshmallow of strawmen and ad hominem.

 

[Rob5091]

So what says the men who was getting all the rub downs, Chris Froome and LRP (damn! it was long time since I wrote that acronym!) ? Will ITA talk to them, I wonder.
Team Milram - Petacchi gets busted for high levels of, guess what, yep Salbutamol. Sounds familar!

 

[yaco]

So what says the men who was getting all the rub downs, Chris Froome and LRP (damn! it was long time since I wrote that acronym!) ? Will ITA talk to them, I wonder.
Team Milram - Pettacchi gets busted for high levels of, guess what, yep Salbutamol. Sounds familar!

Statue of Limitations have passed so this goes nowehere, unless someone confesses.

 

[Rob5091]

Statue of Limitations have passed so this goes nowehere, unless someone confesses.

That's what the ITA have been desperate for, and who better then a devout Catholic?! I imagine though, a team of Ineos lawyers are already on this. I do also wonder why Rozman did n't follow his best bud Froome to IPT.

What could be interesting is if UK's Parliament get involved as British taxpayers were involved via British Cycling's partnership with Team Sky up to 2016 (https://www.tntsports.co.uk/cycling...partnership-after-2016_sto4804214/story.shtml ).

Edit - I suppose Ineos will try to put all the blame on Schmidt, but it was Rozman who had the contact with a dealer who could get Aicar and TB500, and Rozman was buying (via an accomplice) blood doping equipment.

 

[Rob5091]

In Thomas Dekker's book, at one point, he refers to his and Boogard's Slovenian connection for undetectable EPO. I wonder if it is this guy?

https://cyclinginc.com/nada-to-release-humanplasma-doping-scandal-names-soon/ (from 2010)

The Austrian National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) has completed its investigation into the HumanPlasma blood bank in Vienna, acknowledging that the first cases against suspected dopers will begin soon. The case involves a doping ring revolving around Austrian Bernard Kohl’s manager Stefan Matschiner. ...Kohl has admitted to having played an active role in the doping ring and has dropped Michael Rasmussen’s name several times. Last year former Rabobank riders Michael Boogerd and Thomas Dekker were also questioned by the BKA as part of their investigation.