Posted on 08/05/2006 2:31:31 AM PDT by 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.
(Excerpt) Read more at sfgate.com ...
Elevated testosterone over 1 day wouldn't improve peformance. Normally, it is an indication of steroid use which usually takes weeks and months to have an impact.
But this testosterone was supposedly a synthethic derivative. The designer steroid that Barry Bonds was using also left a sythethic testosterone signal (which only became detectable in the last 2 years.)
Maybe he took a cocktail of drugs (one of which was a new designer steroid.) Maybe he was blood doping (using frozen oxygenated blood from a time before when he was taking 'roids or even from another person who was using.)
Between the San Francisco Chronicle and the French doping dopes, does anybody American have a chance? Talk about a stacked deck!
Anymore on that bit of info?
I know he had an arthritic hip condition that probbaly will require surgery sometime soon.
I would love to see him be cleared of this....but bonking like he did in stage 16 and then pulling the absolutely HUGE ride he put in on stage 17 really have me skeptical.
I mean, that's a pretty big red flag to ignore...the contrast in rides. He wasn't conserving himself for a big run in the next stage. He was out of gas. He bonked, and that turnaround is just suspicious to me.
Like I said, I ride some but not competitively so I'm not up on all the little tricks they have to recover. I'm just a little skeptical.
...and a little 'off topic' Q&A from 'Bicycling' magazine I think is kinda funny (from their Tour de France special featuring Floyd and Dave)
Dave Zabriski: Cycling has helped the fight against cancer so much, do you think it could help things such as the war on terror?
Floyd Landis: No.
DZ: The war in Iraq?
FL: Possibly.
DZ: The war on pornography?
FL: Is there a war on pornography?
DZ: I'm sure there is.
FL: I believe that probably cycling would be on the side of pornography. Helping fight the people who are fighting pornography, whoever they may be.
Would they have tested him if he was French?
WOuld doping have even been a problem if he was French?
Not that I'm condoning his actions.
Just wondering.....
What he is be accused of taking could not have affected his performance that day. High Testosterone levels enhance the benefit of training over time, they do not in themselves boost performance in any way.
This whole business stinks worse than French armpits.
Who can confirm this?? Plus, do we know how many times during the race the riders were tested?
My son in law is both a biker, has a degree in exercise physiology and working for a master in physical therapy. He has shown me sections in his old text books which cover the effects of elevated testosterone levels, how to achieve them both naturally and artificially and when they are appropriate.
Landis was tested after each stage victory and every day he finished with the yellow jersey, 4 times prior to the failing test and once after.
Thanks for the ping & thanks the for post in that order. I still cannot understand how anyone could put himself in this position, knowing the scrutiny that is placed on tour participants.
This reminds me of Rosie Ruiz,the lady that cheated in a marathon race back in 1981.Its very disappointing to learn someone has stooped so low to win in sports.Landis is the biggest fraud of the decade and needs to be stripped of his title
Yeah, but testosterone is a steroid hormone, and it can mask steroid use. It is classified as an anabolic steroid, and we are pretty sure anaboloic steroids will enhance performance, aren't we?
...so I'm wondering what caused the increased level. If his medication did it, then I could see it.
but why did he bonk so badly in the previous stage, and how did he recover so well?
I'm looking for a reasonable answer, not a sound bite answer.
Just a quick cut and paste from Wikipedia:
Testosterone in athletes
Testosterone may be administered to an athlete in order to increase performance, and is considered to be a form of doping in most sports. In males, a testosterone patch is applied to the scrotum for several hours before activity.
Anabolic steroids (of which testosterone is one) have also been taken to enhance muscle development, strength, or endurance. After a series of scandals and publicity in the 1980s (such as Ben Johnson's improved performance at the 1988 Summer Olympics), prohibitions of anabolic steroid use were renewed or strengthened by many sports organizations, and it was made a "controlled substance" by the United States Congress.
Elevated testosterone has made me do dumb things too.
But in his case, if he 'added', he had to be dumb before the elevated levels.
SO who could have covertly applied a patch to Landis's scrotum?? A midget french hooker?
Btw, Landis apparently likes to read about Che Guevara as he has his biography at home. Looks like he is about to have the same ending as Che, in the metaphorical sense.
I think John Kerry should step up and vouch for Landis because John Kerry fought in Vietnam.
If he'd come in 2nd in Stage 17 we wouldn't be having this conversation - he wouldn't have won the Tour.
The French can not be trusted for anything. It wouldn't surprise me to learn that the French put something in his food. Test the whole team and see if they all come up with it. You know they all wouldn't take it.
This doesn't make sense to me either. Could he have been set up? Given tainted water?
"Floyd Landis and his legal camp have denied that Landis ever used performance enhancing drugs. "I have never taken any banned substance, including testosterone," said Landis. "I was the strongest man in the Tour de France, and that is why I am the champion. I will fight these charges with the same determination and intensity that I bring to my training and racing. It is now my goal to clear my name and restore what I worked so hard to achieve."
I'm sticking with the champ. High T/e in one test out of several is very suspect, IMO. So are the French.
Hopefully Landis' team (of advisors) will request further testing of his Stage 19 & 20 samples next - they presumably were within tolerance as to T/E ratio, and were therefore not examined for exogenous Test.
Test the whole team and see if they all come up with it. You know they all wouldn't take it.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.