CYCLING:Frank Schleck will miss the 2013 Tour de France after he was handed a one-year backdated ban for failing a dope test during last year's race, the Luxembourg Anti-Doping Agency has said.

Schleck, third overall in the 2011 tour, tested positive for the diuretic Xipamide following the 13th stage.

Agency representative Raymond Mousty said yesterday that the ban started from the day Schleck failed the test on July 14th, 2012.

Schleck, who has denied knowingly taking a banned substance, will be eligible to compete again two weeks after the start of the tour.

“Of course I am disappointed by the verdict . . . However I bear a positive aspect of the decision in mind, the judges acknowledged that I am not a cheater,” he said. Schleck can appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.