http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14043698/from/RS.4/

AIGLE, Switzerland - A cyclist in the Tour de France tested positive for doping,
the sport's governing body said Wednesday.

The UCI said it won't disclose the rider's name, team or nationality pending
completion of the testing process. The initial positive finding must be
confirmed by analysis of the backup sample.

"The UCI received today a report of the anti-doping laboratory of Paris stating
an adverse analytical finding following an anti-doping test carried out at the
Tour de France 2006," the statement said.

The UCI said the rider, his team, the national federation and the national and
world anti-doping authorities had been informed.

The French lab that conducted the tests could not be reached for comment
Wednesday night.

Tour spokesman Mathieu Desplats expressed surprise at the result and said race
officials would await final results before taking any action. He would not
comment further.

The Tour de France finished Sunday, with American cyclist Floyd Landis winning
the three-week race after the final ride through central Paris.

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, the doctor 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.


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