Thursday, July 27, 2006

Not So Good: Landis Tests Positive for Drugs

From ESPN.com:

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 the UCI, cycling's world governing body, said an unidentified rider had failed a drug test during the Tour.

The Swiss-based Phonak team said it was notified by the UCI on Wednesday that Landis' sample showed "an unusual level of testosterone/epitestosterone" when he was tested after stage 17 of the race last Thursday.

Floyd's Mennonite parents won't be happy. On the other hand, excess testosterone isn't necessarily due to drug use; maybe Landis is just a manly man. Landis and his Phonak team are hoping as much:

"The team management and the rider were both totally surprised of this physiological result," the Phonak statement said.

Phonak said Landis would ask for an analysis of his backup "B" sample "to prove either that this result is coming from a natural process or that this is resulting from a mistake."

You know, I actually asked my dad after the Tour's conclusion on Sunday, "Now this guy's never even been accused of doping, has he?" So much for that.

0 Comments:

Post a Comment

<< Home