Former Tour de France winner Jan Ullrich accused the Swiss cycling federation on Saturday of implying that investigations are proceeding against him in the Spanish doping scandal.

The 1997 Tour champion said on his website that he is not a target of the Spanish investigation and that a press release from Swiss Cycling on Friday was misleading.

The press release said, according to the German rider's website, that Swiss Cycling had received documents from Spanish investigators and now had a full dossier in the ``Jan Ullrich case.''

I will defend myself against this ongoing slander campaign that is heated up by the federation,'' Ullrich said. ``In reality, Swiss Cycling has not opened disciplinary proceedings against Jan Ullrich. Nor are Spanish authorities investigating him.

Ullrich was linked to a list of cyclists who allegedly had contact with a Spanish doctor accused of running a blood-doping clinic in Madrid. Along with eight other riders, he was excluded from the Tour.

Two court cases have been filed against Ullrich in Germany, one accusing him of fraud if he used performance-enhancing drugs. One triggered the search of his Swiss residence last month by police.

On Friday, another top rider linked to the Spanish doping scandal won a battle in his bid to race again. The Italian Olympic Committee recommended that doping allegations against Giro d'Italia champion Ivan Basso be dropped.