Contador won the Tour de France with Astana in July this year [EPA]

L'Equipe newspaper reported on its website that prosecutors opened the case after "the discovery of several suspicious syringes in a container given by organisers to all the teams in order to collect the medical waste."

Tour de France winner Alberto Contador and third-place Lance Armstrong rode with Astana on this year's Tour.

The Spaniard is still under contract with the Kazakh-funded team while the Texan left to launch his own squad, RadioShack.

Forensic analysis

According to L'Equipe, the syringes will be analysed by a forensic lab called Toxlab, which is responsible for determining their content.

Gilbert Pepin, a doctor at the lab, was not available for comment on Tuesday.

While there were no positive tests at this year's Tour, authorities did seize drugs that the French anti-doping agency's scientific adviser said raised questions.

The drugs – which include treatments for diabetes, high blood pressure and convulsions suffered by manic-depressives – are not banned but are "incongruous" in top-level athletes, said Professor Michel Rieu last week.

Rieu declined to say which teams the substances had been taken from, saying that it was part of a judicial investigation.

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