Armstrong dismisses drugs claim as absurd

PARIS, June 23 (Reuters) Seven-times Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong totally dismissed today a claim by French newspaper Le Monde that he had admitted taking banned drugs including erythropoietin (EPO) at the time he was being treated for cancer.

In a statement, the 34-year-old Texan, said: ''The latest story, which alleges an admission of using performance enhancing drugs in a hospital in 1996, is today as absurd and untrue as when it was first circulated years ago. It never happened.'' He described the allegations in the newspaper as 'stale, unfounded and untrue.'' Armstrong, who retired after his record seventh consecutive victory last July, has always denied taking banned substances.

The American, who revealed in October 1996 he had undergone surgery to cure testicular cancer, returned to cycling in 1999 to record his first Tour victory.

REUTERS VJ BST0213