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.

In 2005, shortly after the US cyclist retired - in what was to be a temporary move, - the French sports daily L'Equipe reported that a retroactive test of urine samples taken from Armstrong during the 1999 edition of the Tour had found traces of the banned substance EPO.

The winner of a record seven consecutive editions of the Tour de France (1999-2005) always denied foul play, and he questioned the methods of the Paris laboratory that carried out the tests, at Chatenay-Malabry.

"There's lots of stories about Mr Armstrong, he has to deal with those," Fahey stressed. "There is nothing pending against him at this point of time."

However, when Armstrong made public his decision to return to professional sport this year, WADA suggested to Armstrong that he might allow those old samples to be re-tested, in the presence of his own representatives.

The cyclist refused, noting that he could not be sure that the samples had been properly preserved over the years.

"There is nothing pending against him at this point in time. And if he chooses not to go through the process of releasing those samples for analysis that were taken some years ago, then that's his business. He has to defend that and stand by it," Fahey insisted.

Armstrong is now back in competitive cycling after a three-and-a-half-year retirement.

He announced that he would undergo the largest-ever anti-doping programme, under the supervision of renowned US expert Don Catlin. However, the programme was dropped before it was even fully functional due to logistical and financial issues, Catlin and Armstrong said.

"That's his business. I won't make any comment about whether that's right or that's wrong. I support the programmes that the sports themselves put in place," Fahey said.

"This is a private arrangement he's made, that's his business. I won't say whether it's good, bad or different," Fahey noted. "There is a code. Each of the sports has responsibility that they are compliant with that code, and cycling is a supporter of that code. Individuals can do what they wish to do." (dpa)