Tour de France Winner Tests Positive

[BuckWoody]

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Tour de France winner tests positive for drugs
Landis had an unusual level of testosterone/epitestosterone after stage 17


MSNBC staff and news service reports

Tour de France winner Floyd Landis has tested positive for the male sex hormone testosterone, his team American Phonak said on Thursday.

“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.

Landis, who raced with a hip injury throughout the event, was reportedly in Germany to receive treatment on his hip when the report broke.

Landis had missed race commitments on Wednesday and Thursday in Denmark and the Netherlands, which had baffled organizers.

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

More details to come.

Information from Reuters and the Associated Press was used in this report.

[registerthis]

The cycling world sure doesn't have much credibility right now.

[BoCcc2832]

I'm not too concerned about Landis. He had to get several Cortizone shots for his bad hip. I'm betting that the testerone was because of legal shots that he received.

[ThornWithin81]

Why would Cortizone shots result in high testosterone?

Don't make excuses. Odds are, Landis, like Armstrong, was not clean. It's sad really.

[NJReds]

How come Armstrong "was not clean"?

Has he ever flunked a test? They caught all these other guys, but not Lance, who has a target on his back? When a positive test comes up, I'll believe it.

[registerthis]

Odds are, Landis, like Armstrong, was not clean.

Evidence?

[Mutaman]

The cycling world sure doesn't have much credibility right now.

Cycling should do like the NFL- just close your eyes to the doping and nobody will think about it. Instead cycling seriously goes after doping and when positives come up, everyone assumes cycling is the only sport when the participants juice. Does anybody seriously believe that the majority of players in the NFL aren't on something illegal? And yet the media never raises the issue. I guess that shows how powerful pro football is.

[cincinnati chili]

I'm not too concerned about Landis. He had to get several Cortizone shots for his bad hip. I'm betting that the testerone was because of legal shots that he received.

If I'm not mistaken, under this scenario in the WADA Code, he'll still (at minimum) be stripped of his Tour De France title and face a suspension of one year.

IIRC, you have to disclose this sort of medical treatment in advance if it might result in a doping violation.

.... And the world wants a tougher doping policy in baseball.

[Razor Shines]

How come Armstrong "was not clean"?

Has he ever flunked a test? They caught all these other guys, but not Lance, who has a target on his back? When a positive test comes up, I'll believe it.

So you take this same approach with Barry Bonds then, I assume?

[Mutaman]

So you take this same approach with Barry Bonds then, I assume?

There is simply no comparison between the facts regarding Armstrong and Bonds:

1. Armstrong is the most tested athelete in history. During the last few years he was subjected to testing 24/7. The general concensus is that the tests used in cycling are as reliable as any. He has never failed a test. Bonds on the other hand was never tested during the period in question because baseball did not test.

2. Armstrong has always denied that he used illegal drugs. Based on his leaked grand jury testimoney, Bonds admitted that agents from Balco gave him a rubbing balm and a liquid substance he called "the cream" and "the clear". BALCO founder Victor Conte had identified "the clear" as the designer steroid THG, and prosecutors contended "the cream" was a testosterone-based ointment. Bonds said that at the time he did not believe them to be steroids, deeming instead that they were flaxseed oil and arthritis cream.

3. Bond's physical appearance changed dramtically over a short period of time causing many to speculate that he was using performance enhancing drugs. Armstrong's appearance has never changed abnormally.

4. The "evidence" against Armstrong has consisted of hearsay, statements by persons with an obvious bias, and reports in the French press which are unsubstantiated. On the other hand the evidence aginst Bonds is overwhelming, including an admitted close connection between him and Bay Area Laboratory Co-operative (BALCO), the heads of which have pled guilty to steroid distribution and money laundering. Morover Greg Anderson, Bonds personal trainer, plead guilty to conspiracy to distribute steroids and money laundering and was found in contempt of court for refusing to testify in court against Bonds. Anderon has also been linked to dealing steroids to both Jason Giambi and Gary Sheffield .

5. Armstrong has consistently brought civil litigation against any who have accused him of cheating, even when he knew that such suits would force him to testify under oath. He has testified under oath and denied taking drugs under oath on several occassions. The only time Bonds testified under oath was when he was subpoened before a grand jury relating to the BALCO steroids scandal . There have been numerous recent reports that Bonds will be charged with perjury as a result of this testimoney.

So while this is not to say that Armstrong was clean or that Bond's wasn't, the evidence against one is shaky to say the least while the evidence against the other is overwhelming. There is no comparison.

[dabvu2498]

A cyclist is accused of doping and a boy band member comes out of the closet.

[NJReds]

So you take this same approach with Barry Bonds then, I assume?

Nope. Because baseball didn't test for years.

I find it hard to believe that this cycling testing system that has nabbed hundreds of cyclists has somehow been "tricked" by Armstrong for the last 10years. Unless he's magic...

Or, as a columnist in France once suggested, his cancer gave him an unfair advantage because it made him stronger.

[jmcclain19]

Apparently, the night before he was tested - he got hammered - which may explain the high levels of testosterone?

http://users2.wsj.com/lmda/do/checkL..._whats_news_us

The night before Stage 17, Mr. Landis said, while gathered with friends and teammates, he prepared for the strenuous mountain stage by drinking two beers and at least four shots of whiskey.

The revelation that Mr. Landis was drinking the night before the test could be significant. According to several studies, alcohol consumption can increase the ratio between testosterone and epitestosterone, which occur naturally in the body. Mr. Landis failed the test because it showed an elevated ratio between the two.