ARHUS, Denmark, 21 February 2004 — Denmark has applied to host the opening stages of the 2008 Tour de France, local media reported yesterday. According to a report in the Jyllands Posten newspaper, Tour de France boss Jean-Marie LeBlanc was informed of Denmark’s hopes during a meeting with officials in Herning, a main center for cycling in the country and home of Denmark’s only Tour winner, 1996 victor Bjarne Riis.
LeBlanc said that he was impressed by the conditions in Denmark and envisaged no difficulty in transporting cyclists and equipment to the Scandinavian country.
Italian Police Hunt for Dealer Who Sold Illegal Drugs to Pantani
In Rome, police are searching for a man suspected of supplying illegal drugs to Italian cyclist Marco Pantani just days before he was found dead in a hotel room in Rimini, media reports said yesterday.
La Repubblica quoted investigative sources as saying Pantani had “certainly met a man” during the final five days of his life. While refusing to confirm reports that the man may be a drug peddler, police have issued an identikit of the suspect.
