Thread: Tour de France winner tests positive for drugs

[size=18px]Tour de France winner tests positive for drugs[/size]
[size=18px]Landis had an unusual level of testosterone/epitestosterone after stage 17[/size]

MSNBC staff and news service reports
Updated: 10:13 a.m. ET July 27, 2006

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.
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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.

What this article fails to mention is whether or not that is a banned substance and whether or not he can be stripped of his win. Confusing at best.

That's Why BBCSport Is The Best

Landis gives positive drugs test
Floyd Landis
Landis finished ahead of Oscar Pereiro to win the Tour de France
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 struggling 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.

"The rider will ask in the upcoming days for the counter analysis (B sample) to prove either that this result has come from a natural process or that this is the result of a mistake."

Phonak have also said that if the second sample confirms the positive test, Landis will be sacked.

Landis had already withdrawn from two races in Europe this week, Wednesday's Acht van Chaam street race in the Netherlands and Thursday's Jyske Bank Grand Prix in Denmark.

"Today, Phonak confirmed the cancellation. They could not say anything about why Landis has disappeared," said Jyske Bank Grand Prix spokesman Nils Finderup.

"We have tried to call him, to call his agent, and to call the head of the Phonak team, but no one has answered."

Organisers of the Acht van Chaam event were also angry at Landis' no-show.

"We have tried to contact Floyd and his manager but we have not been able to," said race agent John van den Akker.

"We are very annoyed. We have invested a lot of money to ensure his appearance and we would have expected some kind of explanation."

Landis finished 57 seconds ahead of Spain's Oscar Pereiro in the general classification to claim his first Tour de France title last weekend.

He better come up with some plan to keep up his manhood and convince them this is all natural :grin:

He is officially an idiot if he doped himself before that stage.

He must have known he would be tested. The day before he lost 10 min., and then suddently he rides like some superhuman that noone can catch up with.

Why would you take drugs that are most likely going to be tested for??? Way to cheat!!

What a surprise, they were hoping the U.S. wouldn't win their 8th in a row.

"westvirginiavikings" wrote:

What a surprise, they were hoping the U.S. wouldn't win their 8th in a row.

Huh.. "They"?

Please clarify your xenophobic comments before you make sweeping generalisations.

Fact is, this isn't the France/Lance Armstrong deal where L'Equipe accuses him without any proof. Yes, I agree that that was out of order, and probably was to do with some latent anti-Americanism on the part of the French press. However, this is the result of an official drugs test and should be treated as such. If it turns out, through the 'B' sample that the suspicion of steriod use in the 'A' sample was the result of mistakes and/or contamination of the testing procedure/sample, then all will be announced in a few days.

Maybe you should ask CJ Hunter what "they" think of his use of performance-enhancing drugs. Or Ben Johnson. Or Dwayne Chambers.

Maybe he just had a high level because he hadn't gotten any PLAY in awhile...I mean, he ain't the most handsome guy! :lol:

If he tested positive before stage 17, why the hell are the results only now coming out, after he won? :???:

It takes some time to analyse the samples. Thats also why the B-sample result won't be in for a couple of days.