Johannes Moors was detained on suspicion of possessing harmful substances and breaking Frances anti-doping and customs laws. TVMs director Cees Priem and doctor Andrei Mikhailov were jailed last week for the same reason.

Reims police questioned 14 TVM team members, six of whom were riders who raced in the tour that ended yesterday, to get to the root of the doping networks revealed by police raids at cyclists hotels.

The other TVM members called to testify as witnesses were team officials. Officials said there were 14 in all, not 15 as originally reported.

The TVM riders were called to testify after two police raids on their hotels during the three-week tour produced evidence the team was using illicit doping products to enhance performance.

The second raid, in Albertville last Tuesday, ended with theriders being taken off to a local hospital for tests on their urine, blood and hair.

Under the current doping law in France, riders are not prosecuted unless they contribute to a fund for the purchase of performance-enhancing drugs or sell them to other riders.

This is the charge faced by Italian rider Rodolfo Massi, who last week became the first rider placed under probe on suspicion of dealing in banned substances.