Cycling: Report Backs Armstrong

Lance Armstrong yesterday repeated his accusation that he was the victim of a "witch-hunt" after the appearance of a report into allegations made last August in the French newspaper L'Equipe that the blood-booster erythropoietin was found in urine samples provided by the seven-times Tour de France winner during his first win in the race in 1999.

The report from the Dutch lawyer Emile Vrijman, who used to head his country's anti-doping agency, is yet to be published by cycling's governing body, the UCI, but was seen yesterday by the Guardian. In it Vrijman and two other investigators were unable to confirm whether proper procedures had been followed when samples from the 1999 Tour were re-tested in France's top anti-doping laboratory for erythropoietin, which was undetectable until 2000

The report is also highly critical of the World Anti-Doping Agency and its head Dick Pound for his reaction that the revelations in L'Equipe needed investigating .

Armstrong said: "Although I am not surprised by the report's findings, I am pleased they confirm what I have been saying since this witch-hunt began: Dick Pound, Wada, the French laboratory, the French Ministry of Sport, L'Equipe and the Tour de France organisers (ASO) have been out to discredit and target me without any basis. The report confirms my innocence but also finds Mr Pound along with the French lab and the French ministry have ignored the rules and broken the law."

Pound said: "I don't know how a Dutch lawyer with no expertise came to a conclusion one of the leading laboratories in the world messed up the analysis. To say Armstrong is exonerated seems strange."