CYCLING: After simmering for several months the conflict between the International Cycling Union and the World Anti-Doping Agency boiled over yesterday when the governing body accused Wada's chairman Dick Pound of "obstructing and delaying" their investigation into drugs allegations involving the seven-times Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong.

"It has been three weeks since we initiated the investigation at Wada's request and Wada has failed, to date, to provide all the documents and information we have requested, which we need to conduct the investigation, even though Wada has stated its willingness to assist the UCI," the governing body said in a statement.

In another dig at Pound, the UCI also called for the anti-doping body to "assign responsibility for complete co-operation by Wada with the UCI investigation to an individual who will honour Wada's obligations of ethical behaviour and transparency". Pound was unavailable for comment yesterday.

The dispute centres on bar codes on urine samples provided by Armstrong during the 1999 Tour de France. The codes were leaked to the French daily L'Equipe, who matched them to tests made on urine samples from the race last year, and alleged that Armstrong had tested positive six times for the blood-booster erythropoietin.

Last week Pound claimed the leak must have come from within the UCI, and possibly from its president Hein Verbruggen. The claim has clearly enraged the cycling body.

"Mr Pound's transparently erroneous statements about the UCI being the source of the forms are difficult to explain, except that they appear to be an attempt by Mr Pound to draw attention away from his efforts to obstruct and delay the UCI investigation," the statement said.

Guardian Service