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Floyd Landis tests positive for testosterone


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So, considering that another American is about to win the Tour de France, and he's about to do so in a way that at least in terms of drama, blows away the coronations of the previous 7 time winner, I think it's about time someone gave Floyd Landis some credit.

 

After botching the first mountain stage in the tour, Landis was down by a whopping 8 minutes. On Thursday, he threw out everything he had, and finished that day down only :30. And after the time trial today, He'll be wearing the Yellow Jersey on the last time trial into Paris.

 

This comeback is nothing short of remarkable.

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Yeah that was one of the most remarkable things I've ever seen in sport period.

 

He looked absolutely spent the day before, and it was quite funny, the leaders thought he wouldn't contain it for the whole race, and toward the end when he did they're like "Oh spiff we've got to try and catch up here". :lol:

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Phonak: Landis had positivetest after Stage 17

LONDON -- Tour de France champion Floyd Landis tested positive for high levels of testosterone during the race, his Phonak team said Thursday on its Web site.

 

The statement came a day after cycling's world governing body said an unidentified rider had failed a drug test during the Tour.

 

"The Phonak Cycling Team was notified yesterday 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," Phonak said in a team statement.

 

The International Cycling Union said Wednesday that an unidentified cyclist turned in a positive doping test during the Tour, widening the scandal that gripped this year's race before it began.

 

His name, team and nationality won't be released until the testing process is completed, including the analysis of a backup sample.

 

Landis failed to show up for a one-day race in Denmark on Thursday, a day after missing a scheduled event in the Netherlands.

 

Danish organizers said they had arranged a contract and plane tickets for Landis and Phonak teammates to participate in the Grand Prix Jyske Bank race in Silkeborg, about 150 miles west of Copenhagen.

 

"He was not on the plane," said race organizer Jesper Tikoeb. "We don't know where he is. It's pretty mysterious. We know nothing, really nothing at all."

 

He said his calls to the Phonak team went unanswered.

 

Landis also failed to appear for the Acht van Chaam race in the Netherlands on Wednesday.

 

Dutch news agency ANP quoted his teammate Koos Moerenhout as saying that Landis had pain from his hip problem and had gone to see his doctor in Germany.

 

He plans to have hip replacement surgery this fall to ease pain in the arthritic joint still aching from a 2003 crash during a training ride.

 

"We were told by the other two riders that he couldn't join because he was traveling with team manager [John] Lelangue to his doctor in Germany," event organizer Theo van der Westerlaken said. "That's all we know."

 

Landis did take part in a criterium race Tuesday in Stiphout, Netherlands, winning the event.

 

Cycling Services, which booked teams for both Dutch events, said it has been trying without success to get in contact with Phonak for an explanation.

 

Landis won the Tour de France on Sunday, keeping the title in U.S. hands for the eighth straight year after Lance Armstrong's record seven victories.

http://sports.espn.go.com/oly/tdf2006/news/story?id=2531225

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I won't be so naive as to say I doubt its true - but it very well could be a false positive. If Landis was a user of testosterone it would make sense that the 16 tests he took prior to stage 17 would also have been positive. Pr show elevated levels at least. From the information showing, you don't see that. He's also on a lot of medication for the hip he's getting replaced in the fall....

 

But this is another sport where I think, although doping isn't dangerous, I don't think its any worse that any of the other medical training regimens that cyclists go through in preparation from the Tour De France. Testosterone might give someone a little jump in a stage, but to say its responsible for an 8 minute jump in the overall standings three weeks into the tour is giving the drug a lot more credit than the athletes who maintain similar paces the whole time.

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QUOTE(Rex Kickass @ Jul 27, 2006 -> 09:29 PM)
I won't be so naive as to say I doubt its true - but it very well could be a false positive. If Landis was a user of testosterone it would make sense that the 16 tests he took prior to stage 17 would also have been positive. Pr show elevated levels at least. From the information showing, you don't see that. He's also on a lot of medication for the hip he's getting replaced in the fall....

 

But this is another sport where I think, although doping isn't dangerous, I don't think its any worse that any of the other medical training regimens that cyclists go through in preparation from the Tour De France. Testosterone might give someone a little jump in a stage, but to say its responsible for an 8 minute jump in the overall standings three weeks into the tour is giving the drug a lot more credit than the athletes who maintain similar paces the whole time.

Well, you're in luck, there's a way to check to see if it's a false positive. Landis gave 2 samples during the stage 17 test, an A sample and a B sample. The A sample is the one that has given the positive result. The B Sample will not be back for a couple of days.

 

Also, I don't think that anything he would be taking for a hip replacement would be enough to screw up the testosterone/epitestosterone ratio. Maybe so, but as a professional athlete, he should have documentation of everything he's taken, such that he can come forward immediately and say "This is everything I'm taking and I believe this product is the culprit." You'll note that he didn't do that today.

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The thing is - his testosterone levels were actually low. It's just that his epitestosterone levels were incredibly low, which made his T to E ratio almost 11 to 1, which some say can be explained by the cortizone shots he was taking. I honestly don't know what can lower epitestosterone, but I'm told that cortizone blocks epitestosterone production. It seems that if his testosterone levels were actually low relative to the typical man, he was at a disadvantage even though the ratio was off.

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QUOTE(Jake @ Jul 28, 2006 -> 02:33 AM)
The thing is - his testosterone levels were actually low. It's just that his epitestosterone levels were incredibly low, which made his T to E ratio almost 11 to 1, which some say can be explained by the cortizone shots he was taking. I honestly don't know what can lower epitestosterone, but I'm told that cortizone blocks epitestosterone production. It seems that if his testosterone levels were actually low relative to the typical man, he was at a disadvantage even though the ratio was off.

An AP article claims that's already been ruled out. And Landis' latest claim -- I'm just a high testosterone guy! -- sounds weak. His words:

I will procede to under go all these tests … to accredit that the levels that I've had during the Tour and all my career are natural and produced by my own organism.

(Link.) He's been this way his whole career? Then why is this the first test to show it?

 

That's the really odd part -- Whichever story's right, why didn't it show up earlier? I haven't heard any good theories on that either way.

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You know what's great? The French press kinda fell over themselves in love with Landis despite themselves. The story was just so good and the fact that he was cycling with a degenerative hip that needs replaced....

 

They hate Armstrong - partially because he kinda fundamentally changed the sport - and he never tested positive for anything.

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