LA MONGIE, France -- Cycling's governing body and the World Anti-Doping agency clashed Thursday over test results that showed a top Tour de France rider was using a banned substance.

WADA, which oversees drug testing for most Olympic sports, said the test results from Spain's Igor Gonzalez Galdeano should be considered positive because they showed levels of the stimulant salbutamol well above the limits.

"For us, the medical justification (for using salbutamol) doesn't apply above 1,000 nanograms'' per milliliter, Alain Garnier, the director of WADA's European office, told The Associated Press.

Galdeano, who led the Tour for seven days before dropping back in Thursday's mountain stage, was spared punishment because by the international cycling union because he used the drug to treat asthma. Test results showed a concentration of 1,360 nanograms per milliliter in his sample.

The UCI said it considered the test result negative and issued a statement late Thursday to counter the claim by Garnier, who didn't comment directly on Gonzalez Galdeano's case.

"There is no positive result and the discussion over the levels of salbutamol found in Galdeano is closed,'' the UCI said.

It said its own experts had concluded that UCI rules imposed "no limit to the amount of salbutamol that can be taken for medical purposes.''

The UCI follows the International Olympic Committee's list of banned and restricted substances in drawing up its own list.