Italian Team Drops Cyclist

Belgian champion Ludo Dierckxsens, winner of the 11th stage of the Tour de France for Italy’s Lampre team, has been dropped by his team after admitting to having taken banned substances, French radio reported Monday.

RTL radio said Dierckxsens told Lampre officials he took a banned substance some three months ago to aid his recovery from a knee injury. RTL did not identify the substance.

Meanwhile at Tarbes, France, American Lance Armstrong, the overwhelming favorite to win the Tour with six days remaining in the race, said unfounded speculation that he used performance-enhancing drugs has “taken away from what has happened so far” in his remarkable comeback from cancer.

“I have never tested positive and have never been caught with anything,” he said. “France is a very strict country in terms of doping. I am always in France, and if I had something to hide, I would stay away.”