Posted on 07/27/2006 7:35:10 AM PDT by Republicain
Tour de France winner Floyd Landis has given a positive drugs test, according to his Phonak team. The American, who claimed victory in the Tour de France on Sunday, has tested positive for the male sex hormone testosterone.
The positive test came after stage 17 of the Tour, which saw Landis record an epic victory after collapsing on the final climb the day before.
Landis has been suspended pending results of his B sample analysis.
The International Cycling Union (UCI) announced on Wednesday that a rider had failed a doping test but would not reveal his name.
"The Phonak Cycling Team was notified on Wednesday by the UCI of an unusual level of testosterone/epitestosterone ratio in the test made on Floyd Landis after stage 17 of the Tour de France," said a team statement.
"The team management and the rider were both totally surprised of this physiological result."
That is where Landis is going to run into big problems. In France the baseline is something like this....
Phanak has suspended Landis, and said that if the "B" is positive and not explained that Landis will be fired from the team.
Think so, but I'm not an expert on UCI rules at all.He can ask for the second sample to be tested if it holds he has to prove that there's a natural reason for it (the cortisone shots he had permission from TdF officials to take for his hip?) or he's stripped of the win & kicked out I think. This is really bad.
So if it was a Cortisone shot he will be cleared?
here's more ping
This is the exact reason they give two samples. One immediately after the race, and a B sample a short time later -- to ensure that any elevated levels are not the result of natural processes during the race.
good grief *lol*
You might want to wait until the testing is corroborated before making a judgment like that...
Just as there are all sorts of maneuvers to get around positive results, sometimes the tests themselves can be erroneous. In addition, the physiological causes of higher testosterone levels can be multiple including use of legal drugs as suggested above.
Guy on ESPN just said theat everytime an athelete has challenged a testosterone finding, they've prevailed. SO there is hope....
I think this French bashing has run its course. This stuff is very serious. The Tour would have no choice but to strip Landis of the win and award it to the runner-up Peierro. That would be one of the great ironies of all since Landis allowed him to recover all of that time.
Landis evidently made a Faustian bargain and his reputation and career will never recover if the "B" test confirms the positive finding. Phonek has already said they will fire him.
The only thing that will ever fix this problem is a lifetime ban on the first offense.
Such a shame. It breaks my heart.
His wife could have refused him sex the night before after the terrible result?
Apparently you cared enough to click on the link...
Not really. Honest
athletes in today's world
are like moderate
Muslims. They have done
nothing to weed out their ranks
of the villains, and
they've enabled them
in some ways (in pro tennis
athletes talk a lot
about how often
they're tested but don't mention
they're not tested for
common banned drugs like
growth hormone). Honest athletes,
moderate Muslims,
mainstream news people --
there is no more presumption
of innocence here.
I'm not a doctor and I wish a doctor Freeper would comment, but isn't it true that you can get surges of testosterone from weight-lifting, sex, etc? It seems plausable to me that after Landis mind-boggling stage 17 performance his system would be flooded with the stuff.
Apparently you cared enough to click on the link...
___________________________________________________
You got me there - thanks - that made me laugh out loud...
Great stuff
LOL. Reminds me of all the soccer haters on the World Cup threads who said "Who cares about soccer?" Obviously enough that they clicked on the links, again and again.
ROTFLMFAO!!!
Best post EVER!
My guess is that alot of bikers will pass on the 2007 Tour De France...and you will see a rookie crowd of nobodies. Wouldn't even surprise if Amrstrong attempted a comeback.
Landis broke during stage 16 and was written off by all the commentators. In the next stage his ride was widely considered the best single stage ride in the history of the tour. Could he have taken a desperate risk and shot himself up before stage 17?
Yep...if I learned anything from this World Cup it's that some people passionately, intensely, maniacially don't care about soccer. LOL
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