Tour rider fails drug test

Agritubel rider Jimmy Casper tested positive for a banned substance during last month's Tour de France, the country's anti-doping agency confirmed on Saturday.

Casper did not have a medical certificate clearing him to use corticoids.

The Frenchman is now set to be called before a hearing to explain the result and provide the necessary documentation.

Casper has been temporarily suspended by the Agritubel team, and will therefore not compete in the forthcoming Tour de l'Ain.

If he is punished by the French Cycling Federation, he will be sacked by Agritubel, according to L'Equipe.

The AFLD, which has taken over drug-testing during the Tour, announced on Thursday that seven riders were found to have taken glucocorticoids in the July race.

Six of those had submitted documents to the AFLD or the International Cycling Union (UCI) proving they were cleared to take them.

Four riders - Riccardo Ricco of Italy, Spanish duo Manuel Beltran and Moises Duenas Nevado of Spain and Dmitri Fofonov of Kazakhstan - tested positive for banned stimulants during the 2008 Tour.