ICU disputes comments by Floyd Landis about Tour de Suisse

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The International Cycling Union disputed comments made by disgraced cyclist Floyd Landis, saying Tuesday that no riders tested positive for EPO at the 2001 Tour de Suisse.

Landis has claimed that ICU officials covered up a positive test by former teammate and star cyclist Lance Armstrong at the Tour de Suisse.

‘Due to the controversy following the statements made by Floyd Landis, the International Cycling Union wishes to stress that none of the tests revealed the presence of EPO in the samples taken from riders at the 2001 Tour of Switzerland,’ the UCI said in a statement. ‘The UCI has all the documentation to prove this fact.’

Landis, who was stripped of the 2006 Tour de France title for doping and served a two-year ban, said Armstrong’s positive EPO test was in 2002, around the time he won the Tour de Suisse. Armstrong did not compete in 2002 but won the Tour de Suisse in 2001.

After four years of denying that he had ever used performance-enhancing drugs, Landis confessed last week to systemic doping during his prime racing years. He alleged it was standard practice on Armstrong’s team and that Armstrong himself had advised him on the best ways to cheat without getting caught.

Landis, who promised to provide more details, also implicated at least 16 other people in various doping acts, including longtime Armstrong confidant George Hincapie, Olympic medalist Levi Leipheimer and Canadian cyclist Michael Barry.

-- Chuck Schilken

The Associated Press contributed to this report.