Ullrich leads Switzerland

Lotto's Robbie McEwen won a sprint finish to take his second stage victory at the Tour of Switzerland on Tuesday.

McEwen finished the fourth stage of the Swiss tour, a 211.6km race from Le Sentier to Batterkinden, ahead of Fassa Bortolo's Francesco Chicchi and Olaf Pollack of Gerolsteiner.

Jan Ullrich (T-Mobile) continues to hold the overall race lead. Ullrich, a main threat to Lance Armstrong in next month's Tour de France, is two seconds ahead of Switzerland's Oscar Camenzind.

Chicchi thought he had won the stage and lifted his arms in a victory salute but McEwen came through on the right hand side to beat him by centimetres.


Armstrong vows legal fight
Lance Armstrong, seeking a record sixth consecutive Tour de France in July, has vowed to take legal action over a new book about him which alleges he used banned drugs.

Tailwind Sports, owner and operator of Armstrong's US Postal Service

Cycling team, said Armstrong, 33, will begin libel proceedings against the authors and publishers of "L.A. Confidential: The Secrets of Lance Armstrong."

"Lance Armstrong utterly denies ever having taken any performance-enhancing drugs," a statement said. "Accordingly, Lance Armstrong has instructed his lawyers to immediately institute libel proceedings."

The book focuses on statements attributed to Emma O'Reilly, a soigneur who worked with Armstrong from 1998-2000. O'Reilly claims Armstrong used the banned blood booster EPO.

O'Reilly also alleges that Armstrong asked her to dispose of bags with syringes after the 1998 Tour of Holland and that in May 1999, as Armstrong trained in the Pyrenees, O'Reilly said she was asked to drive to Spain to pick up drugs which she handed to Armstrong in a parking lot.

O'Reilly claims in the book Armstrong asked her to use makeup to cover up syringe marks on his arm at a Tour de France medical checkup in 1999.

Armstrong, a Texan, has neither tested positive for banned substances nor faced any bans over doping.

O'Reilly, 33, left the US Postal team in 2000 on apparently good terms, with ex-Postal coach Mark Gorski praising her.

Kevin Dessart, a spokesman for long-time Armstrong coach Chris Carmichael, said doping allegations anger Armstrong.

"Chris can attest that Lance has never taken any performance enhancing drugs," Dessart said. "Because of the legal matters involved, we are limited in what we can say."