Frank Schleck tests positive for dope in Tour de France

PAU, France - Frank Schleck has tested positive for a diurectic and has withdrawn from the Tour de France. He has vigorously denied doping and will claim that he has been "poisoned" if the B sample of his

Scleck tested positive for the diuretic Xipamide, which could be used as a masking agent for other doping products. Further tests will now be carried out by a second WADA accredited laboratory but his RadioShack-Nissan team bowed to the inevitable uproar by withdrawing Shleck from the race. The team will continue on the Tour as they currently lead the overall team standings.

The sample was taken during stage 13 from Saint-Paul-Trois-Châteaux to Le Cap d’Agde which took place on Bastille Day.

The team posted the following message from Frank Schleck: "A doctor from the UCI has tonight informed me that a prohibited substance has been detected in my urine during a routine doping control performed on July 14, 2012. I categorically deny taking any banned substance. I have no explanation for the test result and therefore insist that the B sample be tested which is my right. If this analysis confirms the initial result, I will argue that I have been the victim of poisoning."

Schleck was informed of the doping test result yesterday morning during the rest day of the Tour and was then interviewed at Pau police station by officers from OCLAESP (central office for the fight against environmental damage and for public health).

The 32 year old Luxembourger was accused of doping in 2008 by the German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung who alleged a contact between Schleck and Spanish doping doctor Eufemiano Fuentes in December 2005. He was subsequently cleared of the doping allegations in December 2008 after an investigation by the Luxembourg cycling authorities.

The UCI put out an official statement, saying: "Earlier today, the UCI advised the Luxembourger rider Frank Schleck of an Adverse Analytical Finding (presence of the diuretic Xipamide based on the report from the WADA accredited laboratory in Châtenay-Malabry) in the urine sample collected from him at an in competition test at the Tour de France on 14 July 2012.

Mr. Schleck has the right to request and attend the analysis of his B sample.

The UCI Anti-Doping Rules do not provide for a provisional suspension given the nature of the substance, which is a specified substance.

However, the UCI is confident that his team will take the necessary steps to enable the Tour de France to continue in serenity and to ensure that their rider has the opportunity to properly prepare his defense in particular within the legal timeline, which allows four days for him to have his B sample analyzed.

Under the World Anti-Doping Code and the UCI Anti-Doping Rules, the UCI is unable to provide any additional information at this time."