Well, legally anyway.

There will probably always be doubters, but today the Dutch lawyer hired by the UCI (International Cycling Union) to look into the doping allegations leveled against seven-time Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong released his findings. The New York Times reports that “drug tests conducted on urine samples from the 1999 Tour de France were mishandled and, in turn, the test results could not [be] linked with Armstrong or any other athlete.”

Certainly, it’s a relief for Armstrong, who retired on the high of winning his record-setting 7^th Tour only to be faced with these accusations. The Dutch lawyer says that his report “exonerates Lance Armstrong completely,” and also had sharp words for the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) for not cooperating with his investigation.

In the light of the Spanish doping scandal now reverberating through the cycling world, it will be interesting to see how this news is taken (dare I say used?) by the people who have most recently been accused of illegal activity.