The doping controversy at the Tour de France flared again yesterday when police raided the hotel of the Dutch TVM team in Albertville and took away four riders and a team official for questioning.

Assistant team director Hendrick Redant and Dutch riders Jeroen Blijlevens and Bart Voskamp, Ukrainian Sergei Outschakov and a fourth cyclist whose identity was not immediately clear were taken from the hotel under police escort.

The riders faced medical examinations at a local hospital.

Meanwhile the director of the TVM outfit, Cees Priem and team doctor Alexandrei Mikhailov were officially placed under investigation in Reims. They were arrested following a raid of the TVM hotel in Pamiers last week.

The director of the expelled Festina team, Bruno Roussel, was released from jail yesterday pending possible trial, according to judicial sources.

Festina were thrown out of the Tour 11 days ago after the discovery of large quantities of drugs in a car driven by Belgian team masseur Willy Voet.

Five of the team's nine riders have admitted taking banned products but four-time King of the Mountains winner Richard Virenque, his French compatriots Pascal Herve and Didier Rous and Australian Neil Stephens have said they are not guilty of any wrongdoing.

Earlier yesterday two former Festina riders - Emmanuel Magnien, who now rides for La Francaise des Jeux and Gilles Bouvard of Casino, said after they were interviewed by police that they were aware doping was going on in the team in their time with the outfit.

And another current Festina man, Armin Meier, said earlier this week he believed more than 100 riders should be suspended as he believed doping was widespread in the sport.