Oct. 8 (Bloomberg) -- The International Olympic Committee will re-test doping samples from the Beijing Games to check for a new stamina-boosting drug, as well as other banned substances.

Samples taken from athletes in all sports are being sent to the World Anti-Doping Agency's accredited laboratory in Lausanne, Switzerland, the IOC said in a statement on its Web site. Among the drugs being checked is CERA, or Continuous Erythropoesis Receptor Activator, which was recently detected among cyclists at this year's Tour de France.

``Our message is very clear. The IOC will not miss any opportunity to further analyze samples retroactively,'' committee President Jacques Rogge said. ``We hope that this will work as a strong deterrent and make athletes think twice before cheating.''

The IOC said it conducted some 4,770 drug tests in Beijing, including 969 blood screenings. Six athletes were disqualified for doping, and Belarusian hammer throwers Vadim Devyatovskiy and Ivan Tsikhan, the silver and bronze medalists, are being investigated for drug violations.

The number of tests in Beijing was the most in Olympic history, over 1,000 more than at the 2004 Games in Athens.

The IOC is discussing rules for the new tests with WADA. The organization stores Olympic samples for eight years in case new procedures can spot previously undetectable substances.

``We suggest that athletes who may be tempted to cheat keep this reality in mind, and we believe that retrospective testing will serve as a strong deterrent,'' WADA President John Fahey said in a statement.

The International Cycling Union, the sport's ruling body, said yesterday that Leonardo Piepoli, Riccardo Ricco and Stefan Schumacher had tested positive for CERA at this year's Tour de France. The trio won five of the race's 21 stages.

CERA is a form of erythropoietin, or EPO, which can increase the number of oxygen-carrying red blood cells.

To contact the reporter on this story: Bob Bensch in London at bbensch@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: October 8, 2008 14:30 EDT