From the moment the Festina drugs seizure became public a week ago it was clear that someone would have to pay the price. The sacrificial lamb is Bruno Roussel, the team's directeur sportif; yesterday he was suspended, his licence withdrawn and he will play no further part in this Tour.

As head of the Festina squad, Roussel's departure was inevitable once police sources in Lille said that the team masseur Willy Voet had confessed he was acting on instructions from management when he picked up a consignment of banned drugs and set off for the start in Dublin. Roussel was taken into custody in Cholet on Wednesday and Festina summoned a replacement team manager from Spain.

Martin Bruin, head of the Tour's disciplinary committee, said yesterday: "The directeur sportif is responsible for the whole team. On July 14th we demanded that Roussel explain himself to us and he did not react in any way. We judge that the facts are sufficiently serious to issue a provisional ban to Roussel."

Bruin said that the action was taken by the governing body, the Union Cycliste Internationale, to restore public confidence in the sport: "Priority has to be given to the interests of the majority."

The boss may have gone but Festina's riders remain, the official position being that they have committed no offence and cannot be thrown off the Tour. Richard Virenque, runner-up last year and France's most popular cyclist, said the team had no intention of going. "Leaving the Tour is out of the question. We have come to win and we will do our job as professionals. Our consciences are clear and we have faith in French justice."

Virenque's only comment on Roussel, his team manager since he turned professional in 1991, was that Roussel had asked to be heard by the police and it was right that he should be. His conclusion: "Vive le Tour de France et le velo!" - was hardly appropriate in the circumstances.

Festina team doctor Erik Rickaert, who is also being held in custody over the discovery of illegal substances, said he knew nothing about the affair and would never administer drugs to any rider.

Rickaert, who was remanded in custody along with team director Bruno Roussel, told French sports daily L'Equipe that he had been "broken" by the revelations following the arrest of team masseur Willy Voet. Both were remanded for a further 24 hours last night.

Meanwhile, the daily battle out on the road seems almost a sideshow to what Virenque described as "the detective story", but yesterday the young Australian Stuart O'Grady held on to the yellow jersey despite an early crash which left his thigh looking like raw steak.

There was another dramatic chute in the finish straight but, having hit the deck twice in the previous four days, the "Lion King" of Italy, Mario Cipollini, stayed upright to take the seventh stage win of his career.

His fellow sprinter Silvio Martinello broke his pelvis and had to be carried across the line to complete the stage officially, and the green jersey, the Czech Jan Svorada, was relegated to last in the group for causing the crash.