(More details at: Tour de France champ Floyd Landis fails drug test )
Tour de France winner Floyd Landis — who has tested positive for elevated levels of testosterone — denied that he took the performance-enhancing drug to gain a boost during the bike race.
When asked by Sports Illustrated columnist Austin Murphy if he injected or used a testosterone patch, Landis responded: “No, c'mon man.”
A urine sample taken after the historic Stage 17, which set him up to clinch the Tour in the time trial two days later, has been tested and showed unusual levels of testosterone, according to his Phonak-sponsored cycling team. A second sample — the B sample — is to be tested next. Writes Murphy:
Landis says that an elevated level of testosterone is different from a positive test. He says this is a fairly common problem among pro cyclists. He's retaining the services of a Spanish doctor named Luis Hernandez, who has helped other riders shown by tests to have elevated levels of testosterone. “In hundreds of cases,” Landis told me, “no one's ever lost one.”
Landis suggested there's a chance the cortisone shots for his hip may have skewed the results. Also, he takes a hormone treatment for a thyroid condition.
In an article at the CBS website, Landis realizes that his Tour win is tainted, regardless of the outcome.
“Unfortunately, I don't think it's ever going to go away no matter what happens next. It appears as though this is a bigger story than winning the Tour, so that's going to be hard to go away.”
Landis is further quoted in the San Diego Union-Tribune:
“At the exact moment I was told, every single scenario went through my head about what was going to happen. There was no way for me to tell myself that this wasn't going to be a disaster.”
More Landis doping stories:
Landis says his high testosterone is natural; more results due Monday
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