(Adds detail, quotes, background)
By Patrick Vignal
PARIS, Sept 9 - Cycling's ruling body has
criticised World Anti-Doping Agency president Dick Pound for
suggesting Lance Armstrong may be guilty after media allegations
that he had taken a performance-enhancing drug in 1999.
"We regret once more that WADA's president Mr. Pound made
public statements about the likely guilt of an athlete on the
basis of a newspaper article and without all the facts being
known," the International Cycling Union (UCI) said on Friday.
French newspaper L'Equipe alleged last month that seven-time
Tour de France winner Armstrong had used the blood-boosting drug
EPO (erythropoietin) on his way to victory in the 1999 Tour.
"Nothing in cycling surprises me," Pound said after the
L'Equipe story was released.
"What is interesting about this is the specificity," Pound
added. "No longer is this a case of: 'he said, she said'.
"There is a direct link between Armstrong and a positive
test that he signed," Pound said.
URINE SAMPLES
Armstrong reacted to the allegations by saying he had never
taken any banned drugs.
L'Equipe, saying it had access to documents from a
specialist anti-doping laboratory, reported that six of
Armstrong's urine samples collected on the 1999 Tour de France
showed "indisputable" traces of EPO.
L'Equipe published what it claimed to be a results sheet
from the lab that appeared to show six figures revealing traces
of EPO.
The newspaper also published documents from the French
cycling federation showing exactly the same figures under
Armstrong's name.
"The UCI is currently unable to express any judgement on
these cases, as it does not have sufficient information,"
Friday's statement read.
"Awaiting plausible answers, the UCI confirms its commitment
to investigate how and why confidential information was
disclosed to members of the news media," it added.
NO SANCTION
UCI president Hein Verbruggen was quoted as saying no
sanction would be taken against Armstrong based solely on the
allegations made by L'Equipe.
"We will conduct our own inquiry," Verbruggen told Friday's
Le Figaro newspaper.
"I expect answers from WADA. But we will handle the case.
This case bothers us. It's a further blow to cycling. We will go
all the way."
The lab in Chatenay-Malabry, outside Paris, said the samples
they tested did not have names attached and they could not
confirm if any of the samples were Armstrong's.
The lab said all test results had been sent to WADA, the
agency in charge of the fight against doping in world sport, on
condition it did not use them to take disciplinary action.
There were no tests to detect EPO, a drug that increases the
level of red blood cells and endurance, in 1999.
However, samples from the 1999 Tour were kept and have been
recently retested by the Chatenay-Malabry lab.
Armstrong retired after winning his seventh Tour in July but
the American said in an interview this month that he had not
ruled out a return to competitive cycling.