Posted on 08/01/2006 1:34:22 PM PDT by Vision
Family: Title will be stripped
LANCASTER COUNTY, PA - Family and friends of Tour de France champion Floyd Landis expect him to become the first cyclist ever stripped of the sport’s most-sought-after title over doping allegations.But even in the face of damaging new details, they are clinging to hope the Farmersville native has naturally high levels of testosterone and will be proven innocent — title or no title.
“The bottom line is the truth,” said Tammy Martin, a family friend who has served as their spokeswoman.
Martin said she and the Landises, who have stopped granting interviews, anticipate the Tour de France title will be stripped from the cyclist.
The New York Times and several other international news agencies have reported that Landis’ initial urine test showed some of the testosterone was synthetic — contradicting the cyclist’s claim he has naturally high levels of the hormone.
And in a separate blow to his case, Landis’ personal doctor confirmed the ratio of testosterone to epitestosterone in the first sample was 11:1, nearly three times the maximum allowable limits under Tour de France rules.
“You just can’t explain it naturally, with alcohol or any of that,” Charles Yesalis, a recently retired Pennsylvania State University professor and doping expert, told the New Era today. “They can say anything they want, but I’ve never heard anything like that.”
And, adding intrigue to a case that has gripped not only the sport but fans across the world and in Landis’ hometown was the timing of requests for the second analysis.
Spain’s Oscar Pereiro, the Tour de France runner-up, would be declared the winner if Landis loses the title. It would be the first time at the Tour the winner was disqualified for doping.
At Green Mountain Cyclery, the Ephrata bike shop where Landis used to hang out as a teen, owner Mike Farrington stood behind his longtime friend despite the new developments.
“If I didn’t know Floyd, I wouldn’t know what to believe, but because I know Floyd, I know that he didn’t do anything wrong,” Farrington said.
He criticized the leak of information to the press. He said much of what he has read about the testing and procedures has been conflicting and confusing. He dismissed the unnamed sources and contended that Landis has been robbed of his chance to defend himself.
And, he added: “All the information I’m getting is from a lab that has screwed up more tests than they have done right ... Who am I supposed to believe?”
Landis tested positive for an elevated ratio of testosterone to epitestosterone following the 17th stage of the Tour de France in the Alps, where he made a remarkable comeback after a poor performance the day before.
Because the ratio of testosterone to epitestosterone was more than twice the limit of 4:1, the lab performed a carbon isotope ratio test on the first of the cyclist’s two urine samples to determine whether it’s natural or synthetic, the Times reported, citing an unnamed source.
The result showing synthetic testosterone does not need to be confirmed with a second test, said Dr. Gary Wadler, a member of the World Anti-Doping Agency and a spokesman for the American College of Sports Medicine.
“The rules say that it is a violation, but if you can show that the athlete had no fault or no significant fault, there could be a mitigation of the sanction,” Wadler told the newspaper. “No matter how it got there, the athlete has to show how it got into his or her body. It could have been sabotage or contaminated dietary supplements, or something else, but they have to prove how the testosterone got there.”
Landis has insisted his body’s natural metabolism — not doping — caused the result, and he would undergo further tests to prove it.
His personal doctor, Brent Kay, told The New York Times that his initial test showed a ratio of 11:1, but cautioned that such a result was “not off the chart.” He maintained it could be due to natural causes, bacterial contamination, alcohol consumption before the test or contamination of the specimen during testing.
“I’ve seen bodybuilders with numbers 100 to 1,” Kay told the newspaper. “Although Floyd’s was elevated, it’s not off the chart or anything.”
But Yesalis said such a claim is not “scientifically accurate.”
“Something that’s 6 to 1 is way, way out on the tail of the curve,” he added, “and 100 to 1 is just outrageous.”
A study of almost 4,000 male athletes reported that 99 percent had a ratio of less than 5.6:1. The prevalence of a ratio greater than 6:1 in healthy, non-steroid users is less than 0.8 percent, the study said.
If Landis did have naturally high testosterone levels, it should have shown up in earlier tests.
It did not. Landis’ testosterone levels were apparently normal in tests given after previous stages of the Tour de France, as well as other races in which he has competed in the past.
Meanwhile, Landis’ lawyers in Spain said they filed an official request for a test of the cyclist’s “B” sample late Monday. The UCI said it had filed its own request earlier because of concerns about the case dragging on.
The French news service Agence France Press reported that the UCI had grown “impatient” Monday evening and was demanding the second test be expedited.
“We have done this so the whole thing can be speeded up,” a UCI spokesperson told AFP. “We took this decision because of the importance of the case. Also the longer it goes on the more damage the sport risks suffering.”
But a spokesman for Landis, Michael Henson, said the cyclist had asked early that day that his B sample be tested.
“Floyd did request the B sample test. He faxed a request to his lawyers in Spain at 12:45 eastern time, which is well within the five-day limit required of the athlete,” Henson told AFP.
If Landis had waited till Wednesday to appeal for the B sample to be tested, the result would not be known for several weeks. The laboratory, Chatenay-Malabry in Paris, closes for the holidays at week’s end, according to the news service.
The analysis of Landis’ B sample is expected to take place Thursday through Saturday, International Cycling Union spokesman Enrico Carpani told the AP today.
The results will be announced on Saturday. If the “B” sample is negative, Landis would be cleared. If it is positive, which Landis’ lawyers say they expect, he could be stripped of his Tour victory and banned two years.
Landis had five business days from last Wednesday to request his B sample be tested. It is unclear why he waited until Monday.
In an interview with CNN’s Larry King on Thursday, the cyclist implied at one point that he already had requested the second analysis.
“I am waiting now a requested B sample test,” Landis told King five days ago, according to CNN’s transcript.
Later in the interview, King asked Landis: “Now what about the second tests, are you taking them yet or awaiting results or what?”
Landis replied: “The protocol, the way it works, is after the A sample, I’m notified of the abnormality. I have five days to request a B sample test. I’m not waiting for any particular reason. I just spent the last two days trying to come up with a plan and organize things in my life...
“But this evening, here, United States time, the (fax) needs to be sent to Colorado Springs, to the federation there. We will be requesting the B sample be tested,” Landis said.
If Landis is proven to have doped, it would not surprise the likes of Yesalis.
“The way they’ve spun it to sports journalists — and they’ve bought into it; they’ve been complicit — is that there’s a few bad apples in the barrel in elite sports,” he said. “The truth is there’s a large number of sports where there’s only a few good apples in the barrel.”
Landis will have 30 days to appeal a ruling by Tour de France organizers and professional cycling’s governing body. It will take at least that long before anything is clear, he said.
“Whatever the outcome of this, Floyd’s career has already been shot. It’s going to take him years to recover from this — if he’s able to recover at all,” Farrington said.
Martin said she and his family will continue to support Landis.
“If I make a mistake, I like to make a mistake on the side of mercy.
“If I make a mistake on the side of mercy, I won’t regret it,” Martin said this morning.
“We still love Floyd, and I can’t say too much more.”
A strange story you'd think would have come from the UK.
It`s Bushs fault. Armstrong gets a pass because he`s American and Landis doesn`t. There, I`ve said it before the Euroweenies do.
I wouldn't put it past a frenchman to have slipped him a mickey .
I seen this question asked on other threads, but I don't think I've seen it answered: can testosterone show up like this after being ingested? Say in a beverage? Any chance this is what happened?
All that this testing of athletes does to me is, cause suspicion that samples are tainted purposely, and people can be slandered. Why would someone take a product that would raise testosterone levels, when that would not help him win a race? Either he was mickey'd, or someone "fixed" his samples. IMO
I have no idea.
I wouldn't put it past a frenchman to have slipped him a mickey
No need, the French are doing the testing
It's just another "should be" title from the drive-by.
I'm curious who was 2nd in the race - and is that person going to be awarded the title ..??
You know France and other Europeans hate the fact that Americans have been winning this event year after year. They use the same "doping" charges everytime.
The other curious thing is the fact that there were 16 prior tests which were negative, but on the 17th test the problem was found .. Hmmmmm?? Sounds like a set-up to me.
Don't the substances these people could use have to be given over a period of time in order to be effective .. I mean can they take something the morning of a race and get enough substantial benefits in order to increase their chances of winning ..??
Jeez, with lawyers like this, why bother. Like saying the results of the testing of bullets fired will show its his gun before the test is complete.
It sounds like their explanation is that the high testosterone result is normal for Landis. If it is normal for Landis, then the second test would show the same result.
His test levels weren't high, they were normal, and the UCI 1)has horrible testing procedures and 2)violated Landis's privacy by letting the test results be leaked. This is a sham and a setup and Floyd will keep the title IMHO.
They were never successful in pinning Lance so they've just gone after the next best thing in their minds.
-Scott
The UCI has admitted to a 1% error rate in tests and about 3.8% of tests come back positive. That means slightly more than 25% of positives are false positives.
Moreover, Floyd didn't test positive for a high test level, just a out of whack test:epitest ratio, and the "isotope" test that supposedly proves he had exogenous test in his system is full of holes too.
They're trying to win this in the media first because they're going to lose it in court.
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