Report: Lab erred in Landis 'B' sample

PARIS -- The French anti-doping lab that tested American cyclist Floyd Landis's urine samples made an "administrative error" when reporting its findings on his backup "B" sample, the French newspaper Le Monde reported yesterday.

The newspaper cited unnamed sources as saying the Chatenay-Malabry laboratory gave the wrong number in its report about Landis's second sample. Tests on the rider's two samples indicated Landis had elevated levels of testosterone in his system when he won the Tour de France in July.

In its report, the lab wrote that the "B" sample tested was number 994,474, while the actual number was 995,474, Le Monde said.

"The error, of an administrative nature, does not mean the positive B sample was not that of the American," Le Monde said. "But it is being used today by his lawyers . . . to contest his positive doping results."