The president of cycling's world governing body told the Spanish government the lack of information in its doping investigation is damaging the sport.

In a letter to Spanish sports minister Jaime Lissavetzky, Pat McQuaid said that the UCI felt helpless because the investigating judge refused to allow the use of information from the case for disciplinary action.

The UCI also sent copies of the letter, which was published Thursday in Spanish sports daily El Mundo Deportivo, to the Spanish cycling Federation and the International Olympic Committee.

"The UCI can do absolutely nothing about this. We cannot, as we would dearly like to do, use the information to discipline and sanction riders involved," McQuaid wrote.

"Indeed we must legally allow these riders to continue to race throughout 2007 until this investigation concludes, at which time we might — and I say might — be supplied with enough evidence to go after those riders allegedly involved."

Police found steroids, hormones, EPO and equipment for treating blood at a Madrid clinic in May, and the ongoing investigation is known as Operación Puerto.

High levels of EPO were found in some of the bags of blood seized by Spanish authorities, according to media reports. A total of 224 bags of blood, blood products and plasma were seized, and 90 of the bags have been analyzed chemically.

Eight of the bags tested at a Barcelona laboratory returned with traces of the hormone EPO, or erythropoietin, which stimulates the production of red blood cells to improve endurance.

The bags were discovered in two apartments belonging to Dr. Eufemiano Fuentes, one of eight people charged with crimes against public health.