LAUSANNE, Switzerland - The head of the International Cycling Union (UCI) on Wednesday rejected claims by Tour de France winner Floyd Landis suggesting the testing procedures that showed a positve dope test were flawed, and said the sport may need an overhaul to move beyond recent doping scandals.

The 30-year-old Landis is likely to lose his title after a positive test for the male sex hormone testosterone after his remarkable victory in the 17th stage.

On Wednesday, UCI president Pat McQuaid said the U.S. cyclist had been treated “within the rules.”

“We acted correctly,” McQuaid said. “We informed the team, the rider and the federation that there had been an irregularity. Then we issued a press release saying that an unnamed rider had been found positive in the Tour.

“His team published his name, two days later. We make no excuses for our communique.”

He also rejected criticism of the Paris laboratory that handled the Landis sample.

“I have full faith in that laboratory, and there are stringent measures kept in place by the anti-doping agencies to ensure they proceed correctly.”

Landis told BBC radio the test had been fatally flawed.

“There are extraneous circumstances that indicate there’s some strange things going on with this test,” he said.

“You will see that they clearly broke the rules and their excuse was pathetic. The only explanation I can come up with is that there is some agenda here.”

‘Unconditional war against doping’
Additionally, In an interview the Swiss weekly L’Illustre, McQuaid said scandals such as Landis’ positive test have hurt the sport.

“The Landis affair carries in this sense a clear and strong message for those with the intelligence to decode it,” McQuaid said. “For UCI, the time for easy excuses or for pardoning is definitely over. It is an unconditional war against doping.”

McQuaid said the Swiss-based organization would carry out a review of professional cycling to identify the sources of the problem. He said specialists from around the world would be invited to examine how teams are organized, race distances, the scheduling of events and the number of rest days needed.

“If the results require it, we will overhaul all our rules and the ways we work as of the 2008 season,” he said. “All elements will be taken into account.”

Landis was fired by his team Saturday after a backup doping sample confirmed his positive test for illegal levels of testosterone.

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The samples, which were taken after Landis’ dramatic stage 17 victory in the Alps put him in contention to win the Tour, also contained synthetic testosterone, indicating that it came from an outside source.

Landis could become the first winner in the 103-year history of cycling’s premier race to lose his Tour crown over doping allegations. He has denied cheating.

“As I was a cyclist myself, I found that to be bizarre,” McQuaid said of Landis’ remarkable recovery after falling well behind the leaders on stage 16. “But like everyone else, I wanted to believe in the authenticity of his feat. I gave him the benefit of the doubt. And so I congratulated him.”

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