VITTEL, France, July 16, 2009 (AFP) – French Minister for Sport Roselyne Bachelot hit out Thursday at cycling’s world ruling body, calling for a more stringent approach to carrying out the doping controls on the race.

An incident involving the Astana team of race favourites Alberto Contador and Lance Armstrong last week prompted France’s national anti-doping agency (AFLD) to hit out at the International Cycling Union (UCI).

AFLD president Pierre Bordry said the UCI had been “lenient” in its handling of collecting samples for testing from the team. Reports later claimed Astana kept UCI doping inspectors waiting for nearly an hour as samples were sought.

Bachelot on Thursday said “there should be no repeat of the incident”, and while stressing her support for Bordry she said both the UCI and the AFLD should stick to their respective jobs in the race.

“I want to remind everyone of their responsibilities,” said Bachelot in an interview with RTL radio.

“The UCI has this year been given the task of fighting against doping. The AFLD, which is 95 percent funded by the French sports ministry, has the responsibility of targeting riders.

“I therefore want to remind all parties of their responsibilities, in particular following the regrettable incident of last Saturday where the UCI displayed a certain laxness during the testing of the Astana team.

“To avoid any kind of contestation in the future, we need to make sure this doesn’t happen again.

“Although we understand that not all the riders can be tested simultaneously, they must remain within sight of the controllers so there can be no doubt surrounding the execution of the controls.”

Bordry said recently, without giving concrete examples or more details, that it appeared the UCI was being lenient towards certain athletes.

“It seems there’s a bit of leniency when it comes to dealing with cyclists. The UCI has a less professional approach. I’m not sure the same rules are being applied to everyone in the same conditions,” said Bordry.

UCI chief Pat McQuaid responded by denying any wrongdoing on the part of UCI controllers.

The UCI did not carry out the doping controls at last year’s Tour de France because of a feud with the race owners, which escalated during the Paris-Nice in March.

It meant the AFLD targeted, and carried out the majority of the controls at the 2008 edition, at or after which a total of seven riders were caught using CERA, a new variant of the banned blood-booster EPO (erythropoietin).

Italian Riccardo Ricco, and Spanish duo Manuel Beltran and Moises Duenas all tested positive for CERA and were thrown off the race.

Kazakh rider Dmitri Fofonov tested positive for a banned stimulant on the last day of the race.

In the months that followed it was revealed Ricco’s teammate, Leonardo Piepoli, had also tested positive for CERA, a fate also met by German Stefan Schumacher and Austrian Bernard Kohl.