Baltanas, Spain  - Lance Armstrong fell during the first stage of the Vue

Paris - The French Anti-doping Agency (AFLD) sprang a surprise out-of-competition doping test on seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong that included a sample of his hair, Armstrong said on his Twitter feed.

"Yet another "surprise" anti-doping control. 24th one. This one from the French authorities. Urine, blood, and hair! Classic," Armstrong wrote on the Twitter.

The AFLD confirmed the test on Wednesday, saying that Armstrong was subject to examinations like any other athlete.

Hamburg  - Former Tour de France winner Jan Ullrich said the question of whether he was ever guilty of doping would be answered in a book he intended to write.

"These questions are not that easy to answer. Such things will be written about in a book which I will write for my fans and also for myself," he was quoted as saying in the Bild am Sonntag newspaper.

The 1997 Tour winner said that he would give himself as much time as he needed to write the book.

Ullrich suggested in the interview that not everything had been above board during his career.

Uttam Nale of the Railways won the 18th Vashi-Khopoli cycle race conducted by the Amateur Cycling Association of Mumbai Suburban District. A Navi Mumbai resident, Nale won the title 2:43:28 hours. The 110 km race was sponsored by the Navi Mumbai Sports Association.

Nale who finished third in 2008 race has also been the winner of the Bombay-Pune Championship last year. Amandeep Singh of Railways stood second and lost the title to Nale just by a few seconds but managed to bag the prime prize and by reaching half way much before Nale with a timing of 1:18:30 hours. Amandeep, in a recent national level championship, won gold medal in 1000m Mass Start and silver medal in Devil Teak.

Madrid - John Fahey, chairman of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) reminded cycling legend Lance Armstrong that he can still dispel rumours of past doping offences by accepting the re- testing of his 1999 Tour de France samples.

"If there is a question mark hanging over him there is one way in which he could resolve that. The samples that were taken and that were the subject of many rumours can still be analyzed," Fahey told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa in a telephone interview from his native Australia.

"But that requires his permission, and he refuses to give that permission," the WADA boss added.

Madrid - Spanish cycling star Alejandro Valverde has asked for a further postponement of a hearing by the Italian Olympic Committee (CONI) in a doping investigation, Spanish media reported Tuesday.

Valverde had originally been ordered to appear before a CONI panel on Monday, but the hearing had been postponed to Wednesday at the Caisse d'Epargne rider's request.

According to the reports, Valverde has sought another 48-hour postponement to allow his lawyers more time on the case.