Race to approve athletes' drug test

The 1998 Tour de France was hit by an EPO scandal

French scientists say they are near to perfecting a drugs test which would identify one of the most widely abused and dangerous drugs in sport.

Experts say they can now distinguish between natural and synthetic forms of the banned hormone erythropoietin (EPO), in a test they say does not give false results.

The hormone, which cheating athletes take in its synthetic form, was at the centre of a scandal involving a number of cyclists in the 1998 Tour de France.

But the race is now on to get the official test approved before the Olympic Games in Sydney, less than a 100 days from now.

Professor Jacques de Ceaurriz, from the French anti-doping laboratory near Paris, calls the findings "a little revolution" because, unlike some drug tests, there can be no confusion over the results.

Heart attack risk

The drug, which can be detected by urine samples, is taken by some athletes to thicken the blood so that it carries more oxygen to the muscles.

But while stamina is increased, so is the risk of a fatal heart attack.

Christie tested positive for a banned substance but was later cleared

One of Britain's Olympic medal hopes for Sydney, Paula Radliffe, has welcomed the findings but says more should be done to ensure it is approved in time for the high profile September event.

She said: "It really is a huge step forward that we have this test.

"It has been a long time coming and we really need to get it in as soon as possible."

Doubts about accuracy have shrouded some sports drug tests in the past.

'Massive step forward'

British athlete Linford Christie was eventually cleared by the official athletics body, UK Athletics, after he tested positive for the anabolic steroid nandrolone at an indoor meeting in Dortmund last February.

Supporters of Christie, who always proclaimed his innocence, believed the traces of the banned substance either occurred naturally or came from legitimate food supplements.

Chief executive of UK Athletics, David Moorcroft said: "Anything that can distinguish between the natural and the synthetic - so that with a synthetic substance it can be absolutely clear that it was an attempt to cheat, has got to be a massive step forward."

If the drugs test is approved before the Olympic Games, the worry for officials then is that it does not spark a wave of drug scandals similar to those clouding some sports tournaments of the past.

The French test is reported in the journal Nature