AIGLE, Switzerland (AP) – The International Cycling Union said Monday it will investigate reports of positive drug tests at the 1999 Tour de France, but stopped short of naming seven-time winner Lance Armstrong.
The allegations, which surfaced last week in the French daily sports newspaper L’Equipe, said Armstrong used the performance-enhancing drug EPO to help win his first Tour de France in 1999.
Armstrong, a frequent target of L’Equipe, has denied the allegations.
The UCI said it regretted the breach of confidentiality in the disclosure of samples, but said it was pressing ahead with its own assessment.
Cycling’s world body said it “will communicate its conclusions on this case within the next 10 days.”
L’Equipe reported Aug. 23 that six of Armstrong’s urine samples tested positive for the red blood cell booster erythropoietin (EPO).
The drug was on the list of banned substances at the time, but there was no effective test to detect it. The paper’s investigation was based solely on B samples – the second half of samples used in doping tests. The A samples were used up in 1999.
Tour de France director Jean-Marie Leblanc said the report published Tuesday appeared “credible” and meticulously researched, adding that Armstrong must have a chance to deny the claims.
AP-ES-08-29-05 1318EDT
Send questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.