AMSTERDAM, Netherlands, May 31 (UPI) -- U.S. cyclist Lance Armstrong was cleared Wednesday of doping charges in the 1999 Tour de France by independent Dutch investigators.
Last October cycling's governing body, the UCI, appointed Dutch lawyer Emile Vrijman to investigate the handling of urine tests by the French national anti-doping laboratory after the French sports newspaper L'Equipe alleged Armstrong's samples on the 1999 Tour later tested positive.
Vrijman, who headed the Dutch anti-doping agency for 10 years and later defended athletes accused of doping, said his report "exonerates Lance Armstrong completely with respect to alleged use of doping in the 1999 Tour de France."
Armstrong retired after his record seventh straight win in the Tour de France.
