Competition balancing on edge

 AIX-LES-BAINS, France (AP) -- Two more teams quit the Tour de France today, bringing to five the number that have left the competition after another team was thrown out in a widening drug scandal.
 With the Spanish teams Kelme and Vitalcio following ONCE, Riso-Scotti and Banesto out the race, tour organizers are scrambling to calm a rider revolt over repeated police searches and testing in the drug investigation.
 "The riders were insulted in the climb to Revard by the Spanish public," Kelme director Alvaro Pino said, referring to one of the Alpine peaks in Wednesday's segment. "We received some threats."
 Kelme's Fernando Escartin was fourth in the overall standings entering today's 135 1/2-mile stage to Neuchatel, Switzerland. The original 21-team field is down to 15, with all four Spanish teams out of the race.
 The riders numbered 102, down from 116 the day before and from 189 at the beginning of the race.
 "Everybody needs to make their own decision. Those who decided not to continue today were right, but those who are leaving the race are also right," said former French champion Luc Leblanc, with the Polti team, who pulled out Thursday.
 Police sources said today that no illegal substances were found among medication seized Tuesday by customs officers from the Bigmat team.
 The drug probe also pressed on Wednesday night. About 100 police officers descended on team hotels around the Alpine town of Chambery for searches of the Casino team, ONCE, La Francaise des Jeux and Polti.
 Casino coach Vincent Lavenu was detained following a search of the team hotel. Shortly before midnight, police also detained Casino rider Rodolfo Massi, the Francaise des Jeux team director Marc Madiot, and an unidentified doctor, judicial sources said.
 The detention of Massi, leader in the mountain climbing standings, was the first time the probe blocked a rider from competing.
 Police were seen removing garbage bags full of objects from a van bearing the ONCE insignia during the four-hour investigation of the team that ended close to midnight on Wednesday.
 By that time the ONCE team was no longer on the tour. Banesto and Riso-Scotti followed ONCE out of the race, and other riders protested by removing their numbers.
 Italian Marco Pantani, the overall leader at the start of the stage, was one of the first to remove his number, at the 20th mile. "The pack stopped because they are continuing to persecute the riders," he said.
 Wednesday's 17th was one of the most chaotic in race history.
 After starting out in Albertville and going through the motions for the first hour or so,the pack slowed and stopped -- just past one of the sprint banners that usually has some of the fastest action of the race.
 After discussion, the pack restarted, only to stop again.
 Jean-Marie Leblanc, the tour's director, assured the riders that further police action would be carried out "with a maximum of dignity ... at the hotels of the concerned teams and not at police stations."
 "(Riders) merit reaching the apotheosis Sunday in Paris on the Champs Elysees," Leblanc said.
 With that the riders took off again only to please he public.
 However the public had mixed emotions. Some shouted at the riders and made angry gestures. Others cheered.
 The riders ended the day's stage more than 2 1/2 hours behind schedule in Aix-les-Bain. Many of the riders were holding hands as they crossed the finish line with the Dutch team TVM leading the pack.
 Tour judge Joel Menard announced that the stage was annulled. He said only the 116 riders who crossed the line could continue the competition today. The three-week tour is set to end Sunday in Paris.
 This year's tour has been plagued with doping allegations since its July 11 start in Dublin, Ireland.
 TVM entered the police spotlight when it emerged that EPO was found in the car of a team official in March.
 Festina was thrown out after its director admitted an organized plan to administer banned substances to the riders to improve performances.
 Since then, at least five Festina riders admitted using EPO. Festina star, Richard Virenque, has denied using drugs.