Bachelot wants tougher sanctions

French Sports Minister Roselyne Bachelot wants cycling to crack down harder on doping cheats after this year’s tainted Tour de France.

Scandals involving the likes of pre-race favourite Alexandre Vinokourov and long-time yellow-jersey holder Michael Rasmussen marred the 2007 edition of the Tour, which finished on Sunday.

Bachelot yesterday met with Tour organisers and the heads of cycling in France to look at ways of strengthening the fight against doping, and is adamant the sport needs to come down harder on cheats.

She said: “We are going to propose hardened measures,”.

“It is necessary, for example, that possessing banned substances – but changing them from their original use for use in doping, which are then found in hotel rooms – is punishable in the sport’s code.”

Bachelot, who also believes there should be better dialogue with the International Cycling Union (ICU), added: “Together, we must work closer with the sporting world, and with the police and justice.”

It was announced new measures to counter doping are to be revealed on October 25, the day of the