IOC demands answers following laboratory doping probe

International Olympic Committee (IOC) vice president Thomas Bach has demanded urgent clarification from the Austrian authorities after a report that a Vienna laboratory was being used by top athletes to store blood.

According to German television reports by ARD, the laboratory, Humanplasma, is being investigated by Austrian prosecutors and by the Interior Ministry in conjunction with customs after being alerted by the World Anti-Doping Agency.

ARD claimed that cyclist Michael Rasmussen, who was thrown off the 2007 Tour de France for suspected doping, and his former Rabobank team-mates Michael Boogerd and Denis Menchov all stored blood with the laboratory.

It is also suspected the laboratory was used by top athletes from biathlon and cross country skiing.

Bach, the president of the German Olympic Committee, has held talks with IOC chief Jacques Rogge before sending a letter sent to Austria's secretary for sport Reinhold Lopatka.

"We need to know the facts," Bach said in the letter.

"The IOC wants to know the names of the athletes and if they are linked in any way to the investigations concerning this laboratory. BERLIN, Thursday (AFP)