Cycling chiefs elated after this year’s Tour De France passed without any doping scandals were sent flying over their own handlebars yesterday.

Paris prosecutors have revealed they’ve launched an investigation after the discovery of suspicious medical equipment including “syringes and drips” during the event back in July. And to make matters worse the Astana team of Tour de France winner Alberto Contador and Lance Armstrong are the most high-profile outfit under investigation.

However, the two cycling legends claim they have nothing to fear.

“In France, the fight against doping is total and Astana was the most scrutinised team in the Tour,” Contador said. “I heard they were looking into our waste

but I’m absolutely relaxed.”

Seven-time Tour champion Armstrong, who came third in the this year’s race, added: “I don’t have any answers because I don’t know anything about the case.

“I’m confident that our team has been racing clean. We just have to deal with it and get on with it.”   

French media reports claim that syringes used by Astana were sent to a forensics laboratory and are currently being analysed to determine their contents.

“It (the material) is now being analysed by experts to determine whether we can find illegal substances and DNA that could possibly link it to riders,” a spokeswoman for the prosecutors said.

Meanwhile, things got even rockier for the Tour, after the unveiling of next year’s route pitched the riders against treacherous cobblestones and North Sea gales.

The first stage of the new-look three-week race will start in the Netherlands, with stage three featuring cobbled sections used for Paris-Roubaix classic race.