AMSTERDAM, Netherlands -- Lance Armstrong called it a "witch hunt" from the very beginning, saying a French newspaper used dubious evidence to accuse him of doping -- even charging that lab officials mishandled his samples and broke the rules.

According to a Dutch investigator's findings released yesterday, he might have been right.

The report, commissioned late last year by the International Cycling Union, cleared the record seven-time Tour de France champion of allegations that he used performance-enhancing drugs during his first win in 1999.

It said tests on urine samples were conducted improperly and fell so short of scientific standards that it was "completely irresponsible" to suggest they "constitute evidence of anything."

The investigation also concluded that the French laboratory that handled the samples and the World Anti-Doping Agency "violated applicable rules on athlete confidentiality by commenting publicly on the alleged positive findings."

The report recommended convening a tribunal to discuss possible legal and ethical violations by WADA, which is headed by Dick Pound, and to consider "appropriate sanctions to remedy the violations."

The ICU appointed Dutch lawyer Emile Vrijman in October to investigate the handling of the urine tests by the French national anti-doping laboratory. The 132-page report said no proper records were kept of the samples, there had been no "chain of custody" guaranteeing their integrity, and no way of knowing whether the samples had been "spiked."

"The report confirms my innocence, but also finds that Mr. Pound along with the French lab and the French ministry have ignored the rules and broken the law," Armstrong said.

Pound said he hadn't received the report yet but, based on what he had read in news accounts, was critical of the findings.

In a statement separate from Pound's comments, WADA expressed "grave concern and strong disappointment" over Vrijman's reported comments.