World Group Criticizes Accusers

Cycling’s world governing body, the UCI, criticized world doping authorities and a French sports newspaper for alleging seven-time Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong used performance-enhancing substances six years ago.

The international cycling union said Friday in Geneva that it was still gathering information and had asked the World Anti-Doping Agency and the French laboratory that tested the samples taken from Armstrong in 1999 for more background. It also wanted to know who commissioned the research and who agreed to make it public.

“How could this be done without the riders’ consent?” the UCI said.

Last month, Armstrong was accused of doping by L’Equipe, which reported that the blood booster EPO was found in six of his 1999 urine samples.

Armstrong has angrily denied the charges, saying that he was the victim of a “witch hunt.” He questioned the validity of testing samples frozen six years ago and how the samples were handled.

“I’m pleased the UCI is investigating this entire matter thoroughly because any professional investigation will reveal that the allegations made by a French sports tabloid have no basis because I never used any performance-enhancing drugs,” Armstrong said in a statement. “Based on the translation I read of the press release, I’m pleased that the UCI seems to be asking many of the right questions.”

The UCI also asked WADA whether it allowed the results to be disseminated, which the cycling federation says is a “breach of WADA’s anti-doping code.” The UCI said it had no evidence of doping despite requests.

UCI singled out WADA President Dick Pound for making “public statements about the likely guilt of an athlete on the basis of a newspaper article and without all the facts being known.”

It also criticized the article in L’Equipe as “targeting a particular athlete.”

Claude Droussent, the editor of L’Equipe, denied his newspaper targeted Armstrong because he is American, and said it would have treated a French rider similarly.

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A state judge in Austin, Texas, on Friday dismissed fraud and breach of contract claims filed against Armstrong by one of his former personal assistants.

Mike Anderson, who worked for Armstrong for about two years, had been in a legal fight with the retired cycling great over promises he says that Armstrong made to help him start a bike shop.