AIGLE, Switzerland -- An unidentified cyclist tested
positive for doping during the Tour de France, widening the scandal
that gripped this year's race before it began.
The rider's name, team and nationality will not be released
until the testing process is completed, including the analysis of a
backup sample, the International Cycling Union said Wednesday.
The sport's governing body did say, however, that the rider's
team and national federation were notified, as well as national and
world anti-doping authorities. USA Cycling has not been contacted
by UCI, spokesman Andy Lee said. U.S. Anti-Doping Agency
spokeswoman Carla O'Connell said that group had no comment.
American cyclist Floyd Landis won the Tour de France on Sunday,
keeping the title in U.S. hands for the eighth straight year. Lance
Armstrong, long dogged by doping whispers and reports that he has
vehemently denied, won the previous seven.
Tour spokesman Mathieu Desplats expressed surprise at the
result, but would only say that race officials would await final
results before taking action.
The UCI said in a statement that it received the report
Wednesday from a Paris laboratory "stating an adverse analytical
finding following an anti-doping test carried out at the Tour de
France 2006."
Officials from the lab could not be reached for comment
Wednesday night.
On the eve of the Tour's start, nine riders -- including pre-race
favorites Jan Ullrich and Ivan Basso -- were ousted, implicated in a
Spanish doping investigation.
The names of Ullrich and Basso turned up on a list of 56
cyclists who allegedly had contact with Spanish doctor Eufemiano
Fuentes, who is at the center of the Spanish doping probe.
Athletes allegedly went to Fuentes' Madrid clinic to have blood
extracted for doping or to collect performance-enhancing drugs.
Nearly 100 bags of frozen blood and equipment for treating blood
were found at the clinic, along with documents on doping procedures
performed on cyclists.