Backup Sample on Landis Is Positive

San Francisco Chronicle ^ | 8-5-2006

[Cagey]

Tour de France champion Floyd Landis' backup urine sample confirmed high levels of testosterone, cycling's governing body said Saturday, raising the prospect that he could lose his title.

Following the results of the "B" sample, Landis was expected to be fired by his Swiss team, Phonak, which had suspended him pending the results. He also faces a two-year ban from USA Cycling, which is responsible for sanctions against the American rider.

"The analysis of the sample B of Floyd Landis's urine has confirmed the result of an adverse analytical finding notified by the Anti-doping laboratory of Paris on 26th July, following the analysis of the sample A," the International Cycling Union said, referring to the Chatenay-Malabry lab outside Paris.

The confirmed test sets off what could now be months of appeals and arguments by Landis, who repeatedly has claimed his innocence and vowed to fight the allegations.

If held up, Landis would become the first winner of cycling's premier race to lose his Tour title over doping allegations.

[Steve_Seattle]

"Would they have tested him if he was French?"

Yes. The rules stipulate that the winner of each stage would be tested, and this was known in advance. This is why many of us could not believe that Landis (or anyone else) would be so stupid as to try to get away with something. But all of us Landis defenders have left is our conspiracy theory, that someone in the lab tainted the blood.

[Steve_Seattle]

"The real loser here is not Landis but the Tour, the greatest sporting event in the world.

Is it? It's my opinion that the Tour invites this sort of abuse by the riders because the Tour is itself an abusive and inhuman test. It requires the riders to traverse more than 2,000 miles at an average speed that a normal, in condition, rider could not maintain for 10 minutes, much less 5-6 hours. It requires them to urinate and defecate during the race, in public, by the side of the road or even while riding. It forces them to compete at such a level of intensity that the body TOTALLY uses up its reserves of fat and glucose. It forces them right to the edge of physical collapse. So maybe the Tour itself is insane and abusive.

[RichardW]

The Tour is not at fault. The riders who abuse drugs are at fault. We Americans have hid our head in the sand about this drug business in virtually all our sports. It is time we stopped behaving like ostriches and owned up to our faults.

[Steve_Seattle]

The other day I watched a video of the T-Mobile team's 2004 or 2005 TDF, and it was an eye-opener. The TDF really does turn the riders into - and treat them like - animals; as I said - urinating and defecating in public, shaving their body hair, plastering their shorts with medical gel to avoid crotch rash, complete massage after every stage, exertion of up to 9,000 calories per day, giving riders pain shots in their ass from a medic in a team car, during the race, and on and on. It is dehumanizing, it is ugly. The prisoners at Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo have it much better.

[TampaDude]

"I believe there is a move to go to court to try to get to the bottom of who might have set him up."

Setting someone up to fail a drug test would be very easy to do. Rub some Androgel on your hand and shake victims hand. They will probably test positive for synthetic testosterone.

http://www.androgel.com/

Good point, ol painless! Damn...how many people touched Landis or shook his hand to "console him" the night after Stage 16??? Things that make you go "HMMMM"...

[yobid]

Bob Roll's take on the issue>

The newest American Tour de France champion has run afoul of the anti-doping
establishment in Europe, just as Lance Armstrong had done -- both through no
fault of their own. Their most egregious discretion being much better at
racing a bicycle than their European contemporaries.

One thing that has been underreported in the popular media is that no
illegal substance has been found in Landis’ system.

If we look just beyond a narrow ratio of epitestosterone vs. testosterone
and the French conceit regarding American Tour de France winners, it is easy
to see an anti-doping system that is random, seriously flawed and that most
importantly provides zero recourse for an athlete who is falsely accused of
a doping offensive.

Anti-doping authorities remain free to hurl any conjecture, opinion, or
theory against any athlete without recriminations, even if those accusations
prove to be false or have no merit.

If an athlete is accused of doping, his career is ruined. If an athlete is
accused and subsequently found to be innocent, his or her career is still
ruined -- but the persons responsible for those accusations have no
penalties that they have to face.

One example is the pall cast on Lance Armstrong’s Tour wins by WADA chief
Dick Pound. Although there was no concrete evidence ever provided by any
credible source challenging the veracity of Lance Armstrong’s Tour wins, Mr.
Pound faces no penalties. And, Mr. Pound has not hesitated in casting
aspersions on Lance Armstrong’s record.

Has Dick Pound's credibility ever been as viciously attacked as he has
attacked cycling? He is still in his position of power and prestige, free to
ignore 100’s of doping control samples Lance Armstrong has provided -- all
of which were negative under WADA’s own guidelines.

Will Floyd Landis be subjected to the same program directed at cyclists by
the anti-doping authorities of the world? It seems to already be the case.
He will have to run the same crucible as Lance Armstrong has had to do and
defend his yellow jersey -- not only on the roads of the Tour, but also in
the court’s popular media and in the fans of cycling’s appreciation of the
sport.

The people will remain steadfast in their devotion to this world’s most
beautiful sporting spectacle, in spite of WADA’s best efforts to ruin
cycling’s reputation.

As anti-doping efforts continue to be fraught with inconsistencies,
half-truths, and true lies, it is more and more difficult to ascertain when
an athlete is found to be positive. In Floyd’s case, many questions are
difficult to ignore.

Can one sample be nearly three times different in 24 hours than a previous
sample?

Can the body absorb, metabolize and convert any substance into a
controllable sample that has been recorded to be a ratio of 11 to 1 of
testosterone vs. epitestosterone -- almost three times the allowable ratio
in one single day?

Can any doctor explain the findings in a way regular people can understand?

In the meantime, the B sample is in limbo somewhere next to the 2006 yellow
jersey. No names are to be released if an A sample is positive until the B
sample confirms. Oh well, if you are an anti-doping agent your own edicts do
not apply.

I won’t believe Floyd is guilty of these accusations until Floyd says he did
indeed use the products he is accused of being positive for.

[TampaDude]

I won’t believe Floyd is guilty of these accusations until Floyd says he did indeed use the products he is accused of being positive for.

That pretty much sums it up for me...

Thanks, yobid!

[RichardW]

That's a lot of Androgel to produce an 11:1 ratio. Has Landis raised that possibility? If not, why not? What's next? Faked moon landings?

[yobid]

I'd believe it if they found crack or meth in his system. That would explain more about his stage win than a T/e one timer.

Jack, beer and crack. Now that I'd believe.

[TampaDude]

That's a lot of Androgel to produce an 11:1 ratio. Has Landis raised that possibility? If not, why not? What's next? Faked moon landings?

What? You think we actually went to the moon? j/k ;-)

[TampaDude]

Jack, beer and crack. Now that I'd believe.

LOL, yobid!

[leilani]

Thanks for the post on Bob Roll's take. I'd been wondering what he had to say about it. We should probably say that the quotes come from oln here, opens in new window. I'd sure like to hear what Phil says about all this now too.

[yobid]

I saw Phil on interview and he seemed very pessimistic on Landis. Almost siding with UCI.

[Canard]

"IF he was using Synthetic testosterone it will show up in ALL the other tests?"

I don't think that's necesarily the case, I've seen a number of comments from doctors that synthetic testosterone can be used as a short term measure.

Jaksche's doctor: drug use common

" To help recover, testosterone and human growth hormone can be used. "Both are made by the body and are therefore natural substances," he said. "They help to build muscle as well as in muscle recovery."

Dr Moosburger explained how it was done. "You put a standard testosterone patch that is used for male hormone replacement therapy on your scrotum and leave it there for about six hours. The small dose is not sufficient to produce a positive urine result in the doping test, but the body actually recovers faster." "

Link

"There are possible explanations for a short-term increase in exogenous testosterone levels in an individual. These could include ingestion of the oral form of testosterone, Andriol, or the use of a testosterone gel or patch. These can provide an increase in testosterone levels that lasts from 12 to 24 hours and would boost aggression and enhance muscle recovery in an athlete."

[TampaDude]

Not so fast...

http://sports.espn.go.com/oly/cycling/news/story?id=2532029

[yobid]

Where can I get my "FREE LANDIS" T-shirt?

[Tall_Texan]

I've come to the conclusion: Let them cheat.

Have rules for the actual race itself (stay within the lines, no pushing or shoving, only two wheels per cyclist, etc.) but whatever they jab themselves full of before the race ought to be okay and may the best roided-up speed freak win.

That way, you don't have all this crap about doping and drugs sullying the reputation of the sport because...it's all legal. Just make sure they have good survivor benefits since most of them will be dead by the time they reach 50.

[Ready4Freddy]

Who was it that said they liked In-N-Out burgers? Besides Floyd Landis, I mean...

Matriarch of In-N-Out Burger dies at 86

[TampaDude]

I used to live in SoCal...In-N-Out was the shizzle...gimme a dub-dub, animal style, baby!!!

Five Guys in the DC area is better, though...just had to say...

[yobid]

More on it from Floyd>

Keep the Faith

In the past week, I have gone from the “Top of the World” to the depths of scandal. I have been thrust into the international spotlight and am being asked to defend myself against something that I did not do, for reasons that I do not understand. Although this has been a hard time for my family and me, we are confident that I will be vindicated. I am innocent of any wrongdoing and want to take an opportunity to clear up some misconceptions that exist regarding the situation.

It is widely known that the test in question, given as a urine sample after my victorious ride on stage 17 of the Tour de France, returned an abnormal T/E ratio from the “A” sample. I want to be entirely clear about one point of the test that has not been fairly reported in the press or expressed in any statements made by international or national governing bodies; the T value returned has been determined to be in the normal range. The E value returned was LOW, thus causing the skewed ratio. This evidence supports my assertion that I did not use testosterone to improve my performance. I emphatically deny any claims that I used testosterone to improve my performance.

Much has been speculated about the presence of exogenous testosterone in the “A” sample. Together with some of the leading medical and scientific experts in the world, we are reviewing the documentation about the “carbon isotope ratio test.” All I can say at this time is that I did not take testosterone, so there must be another reason for the result, as leaked by the UCI.

Beyond the specifics of the testing, however, I am particularly troubled by the actions of the UCI. Information about an “adverse analytical finding” was prematurely released by the UCI in order “to avoid a known leak” within the lab. A direct statement followed from UCI President Pat McQuaid that left little to infer as to whose test was in question.

I was notified of the “A” sample results while attending post-Tour criteriums in Europe. As a result of these breeches in protocol, confidentiality and disregard for due process, I view this as a clear violation of my rights as a professional racer licensed by the UCI.

I became the center of media attention with little time to understand the nature of the “A” sample results, possible causes or explanations. As I tried to come to terms with the situation, my statement and attempts to understand the results were interpreted as “excuses” before I had time to fully grasp the facts of the case. The inappropriate actions of the UCI has caused undue, and potentially irreparable, harm to my reputation and character. I feel I am being prosecuted without regard to my basic rights.

It is now my goal to fight to clear my name and restore what I worked so hard to achieve. I am a fighter. I did not give up during the Tour and I won’t give up now, no matter what the results of the “B” sample are.

Keep the Faith,
Floyd