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Report: Armstrong team broke the law in 2009 Tour de France

Dec 23, 2009, 14:48 GMT

Paris - The Astana cycling team of 2009 Tour de France Alberto Contador and seven-time Tour champ Lance Armstrong broke the law during this year's running of the race, the daily Le Monde reported Wednesday on its website.

The daily cited a preliminary report by the assistant public prosecutor of Paris, Dominique Perard, which found that drip bags allegedly belonging to Astana had been seized by the French Office for the Environment and Public Health.

According to a source close to the investigation, possession of drip bags 'constitutes in itself a breach of the law' regarding the sale or possession of illegal drugs. In addition, drip bags have been banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).

As a result of the findings, the Astana sporting director as well as team doctors and riders will likely be questioned by investigators.

The Kazakh Astana team dominated the 2009 Tour de France. Contador won the race, Armstrong finished third in the final standings and Astana won the team competition as well.

Armstrong and team manager Johan Bruyneel have since left Astana to form a new team, Team RadioShack, which will target next year's Tour de France.

Contador, who has won the Tour de France twice, both times with Bruyneel, remains with the team pending resolution of its financial problems.