New Spanish arrest leaves Arvesen's narrow win in shade

*CYCLING

After more than 100 miles of tough racing through the Pyrenean foothills, less than a tyre's width separated the stage winner Kurt- Asle Arvesen from the runner-up Martin Elmiger. But the Norwegian's achievement was overshadowed by the second positive drugs test of this year's race.

Last week, the Spaniard Manuel Beltran tested positive for EPO; yesterday it was the turn of his compatriot, Moises Dueas Nevado. On any given morning on the Tour, croissants and coffee are the first things you have to try to digest not, as happened to me yesterday, the sight of five gendarmes lined across your hotel's front door.

They had come to arrest the Barloworld rider as doping is a criminal offence in France, and Dueas Nevado could face up to five years in prison and a 60,000 fine. Barloworld officials talked manically into their mobiles in the lobby while knots of bleary- eyed journalists staying in the hotel exchanged rumours about who had been arrested. It felt oddly like a hold-up with no hostages and no kidnappers. "Go in, go out, but don't stand here," one gendarme snapped.

The rider was bundled out of the back door and in just 90 minutes, the whole operation was over. The police disappeared in a swirl of sirens, leaving the hotel staff to field questions from late-arriving camera crews.

The Barloworld manager Claudio Corti has confirmed that unspecified banned products were found in Dueas Nevado's room by police yesterday morning. "Dueas has been taken into custody and will appear before the investigating judge tonight," police official Patricke Lamielle said.

"The case only concerns Dueas, not the team," he added. Barloworld have a South African sponsor but are British registered and have Briton Chris Froome as one of their four remaining riders in the Tour.

On the road, for the first time in this year's Tour, a mass breakaway of 12 riders succeeded in staying clear. It culminated with Arvesen, Elmiger and the Italian one-day specialist Alessandro Ballan engaging in a tense three-way duel for the day's honours.

Norway's national champion Arvesen just inched ahead for what he described as the biggest of his career. "Taking my first victory in the Tour wearing this jersey is just about as good as it gets," the veteran CSC-Saxo Bank rider said.

The race leader Cadel Evans continues to hold his yellow jersey by an advantage almost as slight as Arvesen's at Foix - just one second. But the Australian showed no signs of vulnerability on the stage's one main challenge, the gruelling Col de Portet.

His yellow jersey barely visible in a cloud of red and black- clad Silence-Lotto team-mates, the Australian says he is recovering well from Sunday's injury which almost saw him out of the race. It remains to be seen how fast the Tour will recover from its latest doping scandal.

Alasdair Fotheringham writes for www.cyclingweekly.co.uk

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