It looks like Floyd was the one rider who tested positvie for a banned substance. Not good. It looks like he will be stripped of his title and fired from his team.
http://sports.espn.go.com/oly/tdf2006/news/story?id=2531225

Amazing. The supposedly squeaky clean son of a Meonnonite family will probably be stripped of his title for doping.

If I read that article correctly, the sample that showed the high testosterone level was taken after his big comeback (17th stage? ), when he blew everyone away on that stage in the mountains.

Would a testosterone injection have caused such an immediate impact?

If so, I'm gonna have to try some of that stuff (j/k).

The whole sport is full of cheaters.

Very disheartening. I've been cycling for a couple years now, and I've been a "Cyclists don't dope that much" apologist for awhile. But I can't defend anything anymore. First Tyler Hamilton, then Operation Puerto, now Floyd.

Just sucks all around.

P.S. for Hap - Floyd doesn't really embrace the Mennonite-ness (?) of his family, as far as I can tell. That doesn't make his offense any less severe, but it's probably better not to bring in that aspect. Not a flame, just trying to clarify a bit.

[This message has been edited by Scriffer (edited 7/27/2006 1:18p).]

Oh my, this is devasting to US cycling. And will do untold damage to the tour.

It is hard for me to believe this, but he made the greatest comeback that I have ever witnessed. And he had to have known that the GC winner was going to be tested.

I know the obvious effects of natural testoterone, but what could it do to a body in less than 24 hours?

And can you tell the difference between natural and injected testosterone?

I find it so ironic that to succeed professionally in an activity that's among the healthiest around, you're obligated to pump unhealthy chemicals into your body and lie about it.

[This message has been edited by Nebules (edited 7/27/2006 2:25p).]

Scriffer:

I wasn't in any way trying to demean Mennonites or, by implication, Landis.

I understand that his family wasn't particularly happy with him becoming a professional cyclist and that it was somewhat hard for Landis to abandon his family and the culture in which he was raised so that he could pursue his passion.

Leaving the Mennonite community so that he could pursue his passion for competitive cycling is understandable - although his parents didn't necessarily approve, they seemed to understand. However, if he went so far as to engage in unethical and illegal activity in pursuit of a championship, then he's brought shame and embarrassment to his family and the Mennonite community.

I assumed, when following his progress in the Tour, that, if only one guy in the Tour was clean, it would certainly be Landis.

Hope this turns out to be much ado about nothing.

I don't think he cheated ...he would have failed earlier in the TdF.

"Testosterone can build muscle and improve recovery time when used over a period of several weeks, said Dr. Gary Wadler, a member of the World Anti-Doping Agency and a spokesman for the American College of Sports Medicine. But if Landis had been a user, his earlier urine tests during the tour would have been affected.

"So something's missing here," Wadler said. "It just doesn't add up."

http://msn.foxsports.com/cycling/story/5822020?FSO1&ATT=HMA

My bad Hap.

I found out later in the day that it wasn't even elevated levels of testosterone. His ratio of testosterone to epitestosterone was too high. (I think normal is about 6:1, and he was around 11:1) There are a few possible explanations for that:
1) He was doping.
2) The cortizone shots (legal) for his hip.
3) Floyd said he had some whiskey along with the beers after Stage 16 that could have affected his endocrine system. (After a ride like that, I'd want a drink too)

In a statement Floyd said he didn't do it, but he figures the B sample will turn up the same test results. He's pretty resigned to the whole thing.

Another thing to note is that testosterone treatments take weeks to work, just like EPO. That shoots down the theory that he shot him self full of testosterone. He still could have planned in advance to make 17 his day, but I doubt any doping system is accurate to the day, nor would it likely have caused/allowed the Stage 16 dropoff.

Good news is that there may be other tests that can help discredit the testosterone test. There was mention of a urine test that might show different results. I don't know if they have a urine sample from Stage 17, but it would help if they did.

I won't go so far as to say he didn't do it, but I'm afraid I fell into the "Innocent until Accused" mentality that is the basis for the French justice system, UCI, and the World Anit-Doping Agency. Subjectively, the main thing I see that makes me want to believe him is ihs acceptance, not the outrage you saw out of Tyler Hamilton and the like. You don't see the "guilty dog barks loudest" mentality. That's thin, I know, but it's something at least.

Floyd is the man of the future. Not sure what is happening in Europe, but I will never believe that he cheated. I joked during 17 that he had better not piss after the race. But I would have never thought that there was anything to it.

If he tested positive for Methamphetemine, then after watching his performance maybe I could believe it.

But with testosterone, if he was so great from having it, then what happened in 16 and why the massive change?

I am not a chemist nor pharmacologist, but I really have reservations about this doping revelation. He is just not the type. He is too modest/proud of his abilities to subject them to the shallowness of cheating.

[This message has been edited by HOLDENc. (edited 7/28/2006 12:43a).]

yeah the post above is right, he would have had to take testosterone for a while for it to do anything but only one test was positive...

and his testosterone levels weren't high its that his epitestosterone was low...

so what the hell is going on!? no one seems to know how this could happen, which makes you wonder

Look in Health & Fitness for an article on testosterone. I don't think it would have helped Landis. For now - I think Landis is innocent.

I'm not a physiologist, but I would think that the high level racers in the Tour de France, such as Armstrong and Landis, might have this exceptional ability because they do produce an unnatural level of testosterone. This may be why they can do the things they do. The French tried to get Armstrong for years. They even came up with a sample from a Tour he won years ago. I hope that Floyd is innocent and I'll reserve judgment until all the evidence is in.

Could he have been sabotaged? Drink spiked or other personal products contaminated in some way?

Nothing has been proven except that his testosterone was high on one test.

Armstrong came out and stated the lab that did the test is the same one that tried to smear him.

Landis, IMO will be cleared. The unusual high reading could have been caused by his own body, not something he took.

The UCI, is a bunch of a**holes, who hate that another American won the Yellow.

He knew he would get tested if he won the stage, he is not that stupid.

The french are just trying to give him the Armstrong treatment.



-------------------
"There is no spoon...."

quote:

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Could he have been sabotaged? Drink spiked

---

first time I heard that he had drinks with the phonak team the night before stage 17, and then that they were thinking about firing him after news of the positive test, that is exactly what I thought. Although he and just fallen behind so I dunno.

Testosterone levels weren't too high, it was the ratio between testosterone and some other chemical in the body that caused the stir.

Reports yesterday cited synthetic testosterone in his body. If true, that will crater his defense. I would not be surprised if the doping allegation was a fabrication made in order to smear him.

might as well ban all americans from the tour.

I think its interesting how they haven't brought up the crazy things about the test in awhile:

1)It has been debated that 11 to 1 may not even be obtainable by doping, let alone a one dose huge spike. (also 11:1 is the ratio in his urine, meaning his blood might have been a staggerring ratio IF he actually had it in his system)

2)If he did dope, his levels should have still been abnormal for the test by stage 18, but it wasn't. It doesn't go back to normal in hours especially not from 11:1 down to 3:1 or lower.


This stuff has been debated, but IMO I think his sample was sabotaged, or the test was screwed up/tampered with. I don't usually buy into conspiracy theories, but you can't really trust the French considering their bias and prior actions towards American riders.

A solid crystaline form could have been placed in his container or they could have tampered with it afterwards, and boom theres a ridiculous high reading.



[This message has been edited by phatbc (edited 8/3/2006 4:00p).]

It is obvious that the frogs orchestrated the whole thing because of their simmering bitterness concerning Armstrong's domination of the TdF and their general hatred of Americans.

With this action the TdF is nothing but a sporting farce.

They are pathetic and that is a gross understatement.