Italian police searched the homes and hotel rooms of six cyclists taking part in the Tirreno-Adriatico race today as part of an investigation into the use of illegal performance-enhancing drugs which began at last year's Giro d'Italia.
"Nothing was found at the hotel rooms in Rieti but something was found at the riders' homes," a police spokesman said. "We cannot give further details at the moment."
The raids were carried out at 6am local time, a few hours before the start of the time-trial fourth stage of the week-long Tirreno-Adriatico.
"We cannot say which riders were searched or where they live in Italy," the police spokesman said.
During last year's Giro, 200 police officers searched the rooms of riders from all 20 teams after the 17th stage of the race in San Remo, confiscating illegal substances.
The Giro raid led to more than 80 cyclists being investigated.