WADA's Pound rips report that clears Armstrong of doping

MONTREAL -- World Anti-Doping Agency chairman Dick Pound said Friday that a Dutch investigator's report clearing Lance Armstrong from doping allegations made by a French newspaper is full of holes.

"They put as fact things that are suppositions, suspicions and possibilities," Pound said.

Pound said WADA has "completely rejected" the report written by lawyer Emile Vrijman for the International Cycling Union. The report defended Armstong against accusations that he used performance-enhancing drugs at the 1999 Tour de France.

He said the report had so many factual errors that "pointing them out would probably take as much space as the [132-page] report." WADA will consider legal action against Vrijman and "any organization, including UCI, that may publicly adopt its conclusions."

Pound said a complete, independent investigation was needed to determine whether the seven-time Tour champion used endurance-boosting erythropoietin, or EPO. The Paris-based L'Equipe reported in August that six of Armstrong's samples tested positive for EPO.

The cycling union appointed Vrijman to investigate the handling of urine samples from the 1999 Tour by a French anti-doping lab. His report released Wednesday exonerated Armstrong "completely" of any doping infractions.