Floyd Landis hits out at French lab

We reported just two days ago that Alexandre Vinokourov had tested positive for a homologous blood transfusion on a sample taken after his staggering time trial performance on stage 15.

The sample, as with all samples tested during the Tour, was taken to the Châtenay-Malabry laboratory for testing. Last year, Floyd Landis performed a spectacular comeback - similar to that of Vinokourov - which not only won the American the stage but also the yellow jersey in Paris.

Landis is currently awaiting the outcome of a nine-day arbitration to clear his name.

The International Herald Tribune reports that Landis said: "Just as in my case, LNDD (Chatenay-Malabry) has leaked the test results to L'Equipe, permanently damaging Vino's reputation and causing him to defend an allegation without any evidence.”

"It is similar to my case because the LNDD's leaked results have the potential to alter the outcome of the Tour de France before they have proved the alleged doping violation," Landis added in a statement released yesterday.