13 riders tested positive during Tour, 12 had exemption

PARIS, Sep 8 (Reuters) Thirteen riders tested positive for banned substances during this year's Tour de France but 12 have been cleared because they had Therapeutic Use Exemption (TUE), the French anti-doping agency said today.

''A total of 105 riders have been tested and 16 samples from 13 athletes have tested positive,'' Pierre Bordry, the head of the French anti-doping agency (CPLD), said in an inteview to be released in daily Le Monde later today.

''Floyd Landis's case put aside, the International Cycling Union (UCI) has closed the cases arguing all the riders had a TUE.'' ''This is not a surprise because it is UCI that decided to give these TUE. What is worrying is that 60 per cent of the tested riders have said they had a TUE.'' The Therapeutic Use Exemption allows an athlete to take a banned substance to treat a medical condition such as asthma.

REUTERS PM SSC1558