J’Excuse! In Defense of Floyd and Cycling
By Jason van Marle
I really don’t equate myself with the likes of Emile Zola, nor is this a matter of treason and cover-up at the highest levels. I would merely like to speak out on behalf of Floyd Landis, and address the issue of drug use in cycling.
I’ve been watching the news and reading the various web sites the past couple days — Sport Illustrated, NPR, Le Monde, Het Nieuwsblad, AFP, Eurosport, LA Times, NY Times, The Daily Peloton, Cycling News, Velo News — to name a few, all with the same bad news, and a few with a verdict already implied in their headlines: GUILTY.
Phonak’s official statement read, “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.” Scarcely had the news been posted before some overly eager user updated Wikipedia with erroneous information stating that Floyd had tested positive for testosterone.
Walter Plankert, former cycling great and current sport director of Chocolade Jacques Cycling Team, had a nice quote in Het Nieuwsblad, “How can anyone be so dumb. Testosterone. That was already prohibited 25 years ago.” I agree Walter, especially considering all the drama leading up to the start of this year’s Tour with Operation Puerto.
And now begins the spin cycle where a rider swears his innocence, the tests indicate otherwise, and we sit here wondering who to believe. It reminds me of one of my favorite films, “Rashomon”, by Akira Kurosawa, a deceptively simple story that explores the complex nature of truth. The plot is straight forward. A woman is raped, a samurai is murdered, and 4 witnesses are called on to testify before the judge, which, due to Kurosawa’s shooting style, is the viewer. The point of the movie is not to find the hidden clue and out the guilty party, rather, it leaves the viewer with the unsettling realization that finding the truth is not always as easy as presumed. I like film critic James Berardinelli’s summary best when he writes, “perspective distorts reality and makes the absolute truth unknowable.”
But is the truth really unknowable in Floyd’s case? Either he did, or he did not take testosterone for stage 17 of this year’s Tour. He says no, his urine sample says otherwise, and just what does his positive test actually mean? In the World Anti Doping Agency’s (WADA) own words, “An elevated T/E may be an indicator of the use of a prohibited substance, and this guideline aims to assist Anti-Doping Organizations (ADOs) to make that determination.” The test results do not mean Floyd actually took testosterone, it means his A sample showed an abnormal ratio between two naturally occurring steroids in the human body, testosterone and epitestosterone (T/E), indicating possible supplemental testosterone use. However, illicit testosterone abuse is not the only cause of abnormal T/E ratios. So what might explain the spiked levels?
One possible explanation relates to his activities post stage 16. A 1998 study showed1 that consumption of ethanol can disrupt the normal T/E ratio of 1:1. In short, consuming alcohol can alter your T/E ratio. Velo News reports, however, that Floyd’s doctor, Dr. Brent Kay, feels this is an unlikely explanation even if you include the Jack Daniels he and some teammates used to wash down the beer they had at dinner that night.
If this seems implausible, then under what other circumstances could an athlete produce a T/E ratio greater than 4:1 in a urine test? To find out, I contacted one of the country’s foremost authorities on doping in sport, Dr. Don Catlin. Dr. Catlin heads up UCLA’s WADA-approved Olympic Lab, which has handled doping controls since the ‘84 Olympics, and currently runs testing for the NCAA, MLB, and the NFL. I contacted Dr. Catlin’s office regarding Floyd’s situation. His response:
studies I would say no more than a few percent. Such people are easy to
spot because they are always around 4.
Furthermore, in an article published in Clinical Chemistry2 in 1997, Dr. Catlin et al state:
The actual value of the T/E is very helpful in differentiating natural increases from T administration, particularly if the T/E is 15 or higher. At those values, the likelihood of natural increases is remote. Conversely, the closer the high T/E is to 6:1***, the more likely is the possibility of a physiological etiology.**
** physiological etiology is just a fancy science term that means, “the cause of an abnormal condition from physiological factors.”
*** Nowadays the allowable limit is 4:1
To be certain, further testing over an extended period of time must be conducted to verify if Floyd’s levels are naturally elevated all the time, or if this spike was an anomaly.
There have been no T/E values published yet. Is Floyd at 15:1? 5:1? 4.001:1? Until we find out how great the deviation is, we can not be certain whether Landis is clearly guilty, or possibly victim of a naturally occurring physiological etiology. So until we know more, let’s all just take a deep breath, give Floyd a chance to prove himself, and then pass judgment. As Floyd said himself, his B sample will probably yield the same result. After all, the validity of the testing procedure is not in question, it’s Floyd’s T/E ratio. This means while a positive B sample will undoubtedly result in him being stripped of the title, it still warrants extensive testing and research, not a tar-and-feathering. WADA’s guidelines state more testing must occur at this point, and this will take time.
Regardless of whether his B sample is normal, or even if he proves his spike was from natural causes, this will always hang over him and there will forever be skeptics. It’s to the point now where winning the Tour is a thankless job, which only invites suspicion and scrutiny. From the Festina scandal to Operation Puerto, how many more scandals can the sport weather? Everything is in jeopardy, including sponsor’s financial support, rider’s careers, and most important, the fan’s support.
I personally have nothing to gain by Floyd winning or losing, but I can certainly look quite foolish and naive backing him in this day and age. I am not friends with him, and I am not a medical expert, so you have no reason to believe anything you’ve read thus far (although, you can draw your own conclusions from the references.) I raced against Floyd in 1999 and 2000 when he first switched from mountain bike to road racing, and I can assure you he was ripping guy’s legs off from the beginning. He caused the power house team at the time, Mercury, so much grief that spring they decided to hire him rather than fight him. A year later, in only his second season of road racing, he placed 4th in the Tour de L’Avenir –the amateur Tour de France. Success in road racing is nothing new for Floyd and it’s no surprise to see him winning the Tour.
So why do I believe Floyd when I’ve been rather skeptical of other professional athletes in the past? Just because you can’t find a rider in the peloton who can say anything bad about him doesn’t mean he’s innocent. His natural talent is unquestionable, but so are the test results for the most part. I’m not a CIA interrogator, skilled in detecting when someone is lying by observing their body language, but like many of you, I’ve been scouring the various news media for the past few days for any sign indicating a yea or nay verdict. I have years of racing experience both in the U.S and Europe, but never in the Pro Tour ranks, and I therefore can not say I am a qualified voice on racing at the top level. I can tell you, however, that not every rider in the professional peloton today chooses to use drugs to compete. I do have access to people who have known Landis throughout the entirety of his cycling career; they find it incredulous to think he would dope. One friend ads, “Floyd loves to race his bike, but it’s not like he grew up in Europe idolizing cycling. It’s not the only thing he lives for. He’d rather get 18th [sic] than take drugs to win.” (A reference to his time loss on stage 16, where he actually was sitting in 23rd afterwards.)
For what it’s worth Floyd, I believe you. You have to convince a lot of people, but hopefully they’ll give you that chance. Cycling is still a beautiful sport, and not everyone is guilty of tarnishing it’s image and reputation. It is everyone’s responsibility from the riders, to the managers, the officials, race promoters, the fans, and the UCI to ensure the integrity of the sport is maintained.
- Clinical Chemistry, Vol 34, 1462-1464, Copyright © 1988 by American Association for Clinical Chemistry
Effect of ethanol on the ratio between testosterone and epitestosterone in urine
O Falk, E Palonek and I Bjorkhem
Department of Clinical Chemistry, Huddinge Hospital, Sweden. - (Clinical Chemistry. 1997;43:1280-1288.) © 1997 American Association for Clinical Chemistry, Inc.
Doping in Sport Symposium
Don H. Catlin1,2,a, Caroline K. Hatton1 and Sanja H. StarcevicAnd for a good read on doping in sport, check out the old New Yorker article, “Drug Store Athlete”
Please Leave your comments on this subject.
July 28th, 2006 at 10:10 pm
van Marle… Good Job man…. excellent story. It is by far the best story on the web that relates to this issue.
-Cleez
July 29th, 2006 at 3:27 am
Tyler Hamilton’s website has a good explanation of the history of his cause and where some of the flaws in the testing may have occurred. I totally believe Tyler and Floyd. I think the testing is totally messed up. It’s a crime that now the authorities will do something to Floyd that no rider could do. Steal the yellow jersey that he wore into Paris.
Until you mentioned the Mercury team, I hadn’t realized that Floyd had been on that team. I have a publicity photo of the 2001 Mercury team that I picked up at the Phoenix Criterium. I can scan if for you if you’re interested. Just let me know where to send it and if there are any limitations of the file size.
Keep up the good work.
July 29th, 2006 at 4:34 am
ESPN is saying 11:1
July 29th, 2006 at 7:43 am
From Floyd’s doctor: “It builds mass over long-term use of weeks, months, and even years… And it’s crazy to think that a Tour de France professional cyclist would be using testosterone, particularly in the middle of a race. It’s a joke. Every sports medicine expert, physician, trainer, scientist that I’ve talked to in the last day, have really the same opinion, ‘No way. This is a joke.’”
July 29th, 2006 at 9:01 am
Thanks, I believe him too.
July 29th, 2006 at 9:17 am
Great work here Jason real good job.
I’ll just add this and although European journalists generaly have juged and lynched Floyd I disagree with the journalists.
Floyd Landis got either framed or there is a good explanation for this.
The man is innocent untill proven guilty PERIOD
I agree to what Walter Planckaert said. How can anybody be that stupid ? Testosterone is so easy to trace back when used by an athleet !!
Testosterone stays for weeks in your system, so how come Floyd didn’t test positive before neither after the famous 17th stage ? Where’s that testosterone coming from all the sudden ?
Besides in order to be effective testosterone must be taken a few weeks before the vised competition.
It doesn’t work over night it just won’t help to help an athleet after a very bad day.
Floyd got framed that’s what I think.
Impossible.
I believe in Floyd’s innocence no matter what the B-sample will tell us.
Something is very irregular and odd about this all situation. It stinks.
Landis won fair and square.
July 29th, 2006 at 9:31 am
This is what gets me, this test appears from everything I’ve read is only valid for creating probable cause to further investigate. What further angers me is the characterization by the dunderheads in the media, that Landis failed a “doping test”. A doping test, that can’t determine what drug was used, only the suspicion that a drug may have been used, while simultaneously recognizing that drugs MIGHT be one of many causes for a negative test results. Yet this test will be the basis for apportioning punishment!
I can not think of a situation where the word Kafkaesque is more literally appropriate.
July 29th, 2006 at 2:22 pm
Jason,
nice analysis……..very well put together. It’s a tough one. If guilty, yes, a dumb way to dope for sure. Gotta give Floyd and Phonak more credit than that. If not guilty, you’d gotta think he’d submit high T/E tests for years now. Maybe he just listened to too much Kid Rock. I met Floyd in 98, and yes, he had tons of NATURAL talent back then……….that was very clear.
Hope to end up in a 2-up break with you again,
Lovedawg
July 29th, 2006 at 6:39 pm
Jason,
Thank you for this very well done piece. I don’t believe Floyd Landis is guilty of doping either. He would have to be too stupid to balance a bike to use something as easily discovered as testosterone. Especially since there is no upside to using it. I have a hard time believing he would throw away his cycling career and the yellow jersey to use a substance that would do nothing productive and most assuredly be discovered.
Tracey
July 30th, 2006 at 2:18 pm
The testing process sounds to me like if cops arrested you because you had some fancy new sneakers one day. Where’d you get them? Fancy new sneakers can be a sign that you stole them. Of course, it also could be your birthday, but no one’s asking about that.
Bull Shizzle. I say.
July 30th, 2006 at 5:59 pm
Floyd will have a hard time getting out of this one. If the T/E analysis comes in high, the lab runs an Isotope Ratio Mass Spectrometry test. The IRMS test can differentiate between testosterone created by the body or from an outside source. It’s interesting how this particular issue didn’t make it to the media. Floyd tested positive for synthetic testosterone.
Also, Floyd was tested six times before stage 17 and several times after and none of those tests reported any abnormal T/E ratios. If he had an unusually high natural testosterone level it would’ve been present in those other tests.
Also, it’s been reported, from riders in the pro peleton, that testosterone patches work very quickly and can aid in recovery. The patches are designed to be used by women who are going through menopause and/or have a low libido (female Viagra). In order to get the full effect the women leave the patch on for extended periods of time. For the athlete, in order to not raise the T/E level significantly, but still gain some benefit, they must only wear the patch for several hours.
Like everyone else, I want to believe Floyd is innocent and I’m withholding judgment. However, I don’t think it’s so far fetched that this could happen, taking into consideration the circumstances. Floyd stated stage 16 was a disaster, he felt he let down the team. They went out and had a few drinks (we’ve all done something stupid after a few drinks) they’re sitting around the hotel room passing the JD bottle around and someone brings out the patch. “Hey Floyd, just keep this on for 2 hours and it can’t be detected, and you will kick ass tomorrow”. On goes the patch, Floyd is understandably tired and had a few drinks, falls asleep with the patch on. Takes it off 8 hours later and you have an 11:1 T/E ratio.
It’s already been stated, by the medical experts; the other drugs he was cleared for can’t cause the high T/E ratio or create synthetic testosterone. The only other explanation is the conspiracy theory about the lab or someone spiked the urine, etc and if that happened good luck proving it.
July 31st, 2006 at 3:10 am
Doug Loveday - you say “Gotta give Floyd and Phonak more credit than that”. In what way should anybody in professional cycling be giving Phonak any credit whatsoever. This team has one of the worst doping records in the history of the sport.
July 31st, 2006 at 4:21 am
“Also, Floyd was tested six times before stage 17 and several times after and none of those tests reported any abnormal T/E ratios. If he had an unusually high natural testosterone level it would’ve been present in those other tests.”
These are the facts that create so many questions in my mind. Why isn’t FL, and his various representatives, pointing this out to the media emphatically? It immediately discredits the Stage 17 test.
Instead, as I understand it, FL et al are claiming that FL has a naturally elevated T/E ratio. This before the B sample results. Why take a gamble like this? You wouldn’t unless, of course, you know more than has been relayed to the public.
The rumor about synthetic testosterone found in the A sample really f’s things up for FL.
July 31st, 2006 at 8:37 am
Very nice piece. Thanks!
July 31st, 2006 at 8:48 pm
In reply to mspoke: It just seems so irrational for a outfit that’s been around at this level for this long (as well as Landis) to make this type of blunder on the world stage (TdF), especially in light of Operation Puerto. Perhaps due credit is undeserved? Your point is valid in that Phonak’s track record is very weak. If Phonak doped Floyd with testosterone after stage 16, to me, it would seem like they sent him out there like a lamb for the slaughter. Good point, thanks.
August 1st, 2006 at 10:37 am
Whatever the tests say, I believe Floyd did nothing to himself to enhance his performance. He has shown his true character through the past several years that I have been watching him cycle. I’ve lived where he was raised, and I know the kind of people he comes from. This is not a man who would dope.
August 1st, 2006 at 1:46 pm
I used to believe Tyler was innocent but his association with the Dr. implicated in Operation Puerto makes it hard to continue believing his potestations.
As for Floyd, Well the Jury is out but I think he’s in a position where he bears the burden of proof and will need to very clearly demonstrate his innocence (Not appropriate that this is so, it just is…)
August 1st, 2006 at 2:45 pm
Wake up! Doping has been in cycling since the 1890’s and everyone is trying to close their eyes to the fact that another “hero” has been caught. Drugs are in sport because sport became a business. Stop trying to make excuses; open you eyes and live in reality. I really feel badly that many of you are dupped into thinking that these cyclists don’t dope.
August 1st, 2006 at 11:08 pm
Interesting, well-thought, and compelling article, Jason, one that nicely sums up my own personal view. While the UCI has set a T/E ratio of 4:1 for evidence of Testosterone “doping”, I haven’t, and would like to see the population genetics data that supports that this ratio is indicative of taking of exogenous testosterone in all individuals of all possible populations. It’s well known that small nos. of individuals of a populaton can exhibit markedly different physical capabilities than the population at large. For example, there is a genetic polymorphism in a small no. of individuals that causes them to have twice the bone density of normal individuals. This is due to a rare genetic duplication in the gene governing bone differentiation and density. These individuals are perfectly normal, with the exception that they virtually never break bones. The other point I’d like to bring up is the concept behind pharmacogenomics….this is a well-characterized genetic difference that governs measurable differences in the way certain individuals of a populaton metabloize drugs. For example, individuals with differences in the in the VKORC1 gene explain 25% of the dose variation for the anticoagulant Warfarin between patients:some individuals have genetic polymorphisms that make them MUCH more susceptible to the toxic effects of warfarin than is most of the population. The toxic effects of erythromycin and seldane is another example of pharmacogenomics, in individuals with specific genetic polymorphisms, this combination of drugs can be deadly.
My point here is that the elevated T/E ratio that is possibly exhibited by Floyd’s urine may be a pharmacogenetic response on the part of Floyd to the ingestion of alcohol, such that ingestion causes a much larger shift in this ratio than is exhibited by the general population as a whole. If his natural T/E ratio is say, 5:1 w/o alcohol (which is also possible due to genetic polymorphisms), the ingestion of alcohol and specific pharmacgenomically based response could kick that ratio to 11:1, as it has been reported in the literature that alcohol can increase this ratio in certain individuals by as much as 90%. I don’t see anyone at WADA, the UCI, the lab in Paris, or anywhere else discussing the very real possibility of this being a pharmacogenomic “artifact”.
August 2nd, 2006 at 9:10 am
How many tdf winners have had a hip replacement ?
Yeah he would have to be stupid to throw away a career,,,,,,, that was already over.
His tdf was over, his hip was finished, and you wonder why he would do such a thing ?
What are you guys on ?
How long does it take to get competitive again after a hip replacement, about 2 years ?
How long will he be banned for ?
If I was Floyd, I would agree to a lie detector test by the FBI, that would hold more weight, than a bunch of medical stuff dredged up by google.
IMO he’s guilty, his Larry King interview sucked, “felt sorry for his parents”
You just won the tdf, you know your innocent, why say such a thing ?
Why is his team already prepping for the second test to be positive ?
It also seems very strange how so much in depth knowledge of the testing process, is known by cyclists. They have testing in the sports I am involved in, but I wouldn’t know jack about stuff like that because I dont dope!
Floyd on his interview with Larry, makes out he hasn’t a clue about the medical stuff, “err I’m not sure Larry”…..then later in the interview sudddenly becomes an expert with “false positives happen all the time”.
To dope you have to know all about the T/E ratio and stuff like that, got to stay one step ahead of the testers, right.
This post was surely intended to flush the dopers out
August 2nd, 2006 at 1:40 pm
Question for Paul, since you’re so confident he’s guilty: why testosterone? So he’s cracked on stage 16 and it looks like his TdF is over so he takes a steroid that doesn’t help him recover, doesn’t help the blood carry more oxygen, and isn’t a stimulant, but would only help build lean muscle during training. And then to top it off FL, since he’s obviously an expert on doping as you say, decides to forego taking synthetic epitestosterone to keep his T/E ratio under 4:1 because…well, you can explain that one to me.
I’m not saying Floyd is guilty or innocent. I have a split opinion that while I think like a lot of others that Floyd doesn’t have the character to cheat, I also suspect there is a long term culture of doping in professional cycling. But this whole story doesn’t make sense, and to say that FL is obviously guilty you’re gonna have to make a pretty clear case showing why Floyd is that stoopid.
August 3rd, 2006 at 5:06 am
Glad to see someone is trying to consider alternative explanations for test results. People alslo need to be aware that the isotope ratio test that is being reported as indicating exogenous testosterone is a test whose validity is being questioned by no less than WADA itself.
A WADA-sponsored research project titled “Influence of Changes in diet on the dynamics of 13C/12C in selected urinary steroids” is testing the effects of diet on the test result.
By funding this research, it seems WADA acknowledges that test results might be influenced by things other than exogenous steroids. One also has to question what else might influence the test results.
August 3rd, 2006 at 7:13 am
What isn’t being said (enough) is that claiming Floyd couldn’t be doping because he isn’t stupid enough to dope is circular logic. It really is purely circumstantial, and quite misleading when we know that Floyd had little to lose after Stage 16, and never would have become a household name without winning the Tour.
The truth is hard folks.
August 3rd, 2006 at 8:18 am
The people who choose to defend Landis no matter what should pick a consistent line of defense and stick to it instead of drawing zillions of different excuses out of their hats, especially when they are incompatible.
- some claim alcohol is responsible for it, but if we refer to the scientific studies they cite, Landis would have needed to drink a h*ll of a lot to reach a T/E ratio of 11:1 -> bad excuse
- some (including Landis himself) claim he has naturally high T/E ratios. But then why was it not detected in the many other tests he underwent during the race?
- some wonder why he was tested positive only once and not the other days. Well see previous point, there is some kind of incompatibility here… You cannot claim the T/E ratio is naturally high and then claim there is a problem with the test.
- some claim he was framed on stage 17 (e.g. someone gave him a drink containing testosterone). Why would someone do that on that stage, when nobody would have bet a penny on him? On stage 16 he fell 8 minutes behind the leader and nobody believed he could come back. If I wanted to frame someone, I would do it when he is likely to win, not when he is out of the race…
- if he had naturally high T/E ratios, it would been detected much earlier. *newsflash* Landis was not a beginner, he had been tested for YEARS before this race. Note to Stephe Scharf: if Landis had a ‘natural’ T/E ratio of 5:1 as you suggest, he would have been tested positive in EVERY test because the limit is 4:1….. And you must be kidding when you claim Landis’ body could be over-responsive to alcohol. Prove it! Otherwise any athlete can claim “Oh well, my body naturally produces EPO/steroids/testosterone each time I eat a piece of pizza and I had one just before the race”. Good one.
- the “good character” excuse: yeah right… I did not know being a nice guy would automatically make you innocent.
- to Mountain Goat, about the variations of 13C/12C in diet: what a stretch… By the way could you give a few orders of magnitude, like how much does the isotope ratio vary in food? Second, if you decide to believe that there is no exogenous testosterone, you still have to explain why the 11:1 ratio is normal…
Many people here live in denial and would make up any excuse to keep believing what they like.
August 3rd, 2006 at 8:21 am
I forgot to mention the guys who say the high T/E ratio does not mean he had too much testosterone in his blood, but maybe that it only means his epitestosterone level was low…
This is incompatible with Landis saying he has naturally high testosterone levels.
Another bad excuse dumped.
August 5th, 2006 at 6:21 am
Landis was framed. Someone probably spiked his food with an oral form of testosterone while he was staying in France.
August 7th, 2006 at 1:01 am
To Bill: yeah right, when every other excuse is proven spurious, it must be the French’s fault. Ridiculous.
The bottom line is: Landis is a cheat (and probably not the only one but he was stupid enough to get caught).
Note: even Landis himself did not come up with such a pathetic excuse. Quite reasonably indeed, since he had already tried
- I have big balls that naturally produce lots of testosterone
- it is because of my thyroid problems
- maybe it is because of the corticoids I take for my rotten hip (it is really in a bad shape, but I can still ride a bike and win a race, because you know, hips don’t work that much on a bike….
- I was dehydrated
- and the best of all: I was drunk, sir!
Pathetic, pathetic, pathetic…
What is his new line of defense by the way? Oh yeah: UCI gave the results to the press without notifying me. And how does that make his T/E ratio higher? hmmm?
Cyclists are funny. And Floyd is clown #1.
August 7th, 2006 at 8:37 am
thank you for this article. i googled “defense of floyd landis”, and this is what i was looking for: fair, unbiased, intelligent thoughts about what happened.
has anyone asked the question “could floyd have been doped without his knowledge?” i’m sure that many people wanted so much for him, and emotions being what they were. he did say he woke up and just felt angry, right? i don’t know, i just want to believe in something.
August 8th, 2006 at 2:30 am
Arguing with people who believe Landis did not cheat just because they “want to believe in something” is a waste of time. No matter what evidence you bring, it is still about faith in the end…
To those who think he has been doped without knowing: well at least you acknowledge he WAS doped. This is against the rules. Case closed. Then it is Landis’ job to find out who did that, prove it and sue them. When you are caught speeding with your car because your speedometer has a problem, you still get a ticket. Then maybe you can sue the car dealer.
August 9th, 2006 at 5:19 am
So, here’s a question: I don’t know if he’s innocent or guilty, but some questions do come to mind.
1. If he was so down after Stage 16 and he didn’t think he could win at that point, why dope, and why testosterone?
2. How quickly is the testing done? If it’s done immediately, why was the test result not said to be positive and retested before he won the TdF? One would think, with the doping going on, they want to get rid of those doping before anything like someone winning the TdF and having this huge publicity stunt all over the place.
3. Does the test for synthetic testosterone come back with a positive if there is a synthetic cause for low epitosterone?
August 9th, 2006 at 3:12 pm
here is a link to a cool shirt you can where in support of Floyd http://www.cafepress.com/kitschy
August 10th, 2006 at 7:21 am
Answers to Questionable:
1. How do you know he thought he could not win? And if he thought he could not win, then why did he bother attack on stage 17 ? He attacked on stage 17 because he obviously thought he could do something about it. And what does doping have to do with being up or down? There are losers who dope or don’t dope, winners who dope or don’t dope. What is your point? He was down so there was no point doping? And if he had been in good shape you would have said he would not have needed to dope either! Well I guess nobody who ever dope then? Still some people do…
So why dope and why testosterone? Why don’t you ask Landis?
Also what makes you think he only doped on stage 17? Didn’t you find his failure on stage 16 a bit surprising?
2. How quickly is the testing done? It obviously takes several days. It is a complex process that needs a full lab, it cannot be done during the race. It is the case in every sport, do a little search on testing techniques. The web is full of information about that and stop thinking there is something special about the way Landis was tested. It is a common procedure.
3. The test for synthetic testosterone is based on a measure of carbon isotopes (the ratio of 12C and 13C in testosterone molecules). Artificially lowering epitestosterone would not change anything to the nature of testosterone and the 12C/13C ratio in it…
August 10th, 2006 at 7:25 am
Here is a good paper that nails it. Including a list of common excuses used by athletes who were caught.
http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/sports/columnists.nsf/bryanburwell/story/453C8E6216CBF69A862571C4001722C5?OpenDocument
Jeff, looks like you just brought excuse #8 in the list, probably the most pathetic one: “It’s a conspiracy by the French”…
August 11th, 2006 at 9:04 pm
The laughter at the “excuse of the day” reflects a lot on those doing the laughing. If you pretend he’s innocent, then the befuddlement would be genuine, and the theory du-jour would be consistent with trying to come up with something that could be tested for truth. If he’s guilty, you’d like to think he’d have a better excuse.
It doesn’t matter anyway — what will count is what is presented at the hearing and appeals on his behalf, after some of these theories have been tested in some way other than as punch lines for columnists.
-dB
August 13th, 2006 at 12:34 am
In the post Tour aftermath, its been easy to become fixated on all that’s wrong with the sport. Doug Loveday writes a nice piece reminding us why we all love cycling so much. Thanks Doug!
http://www.grandcanyonracing.org/
August 13th, 2007 at 5:02 pm
I have to say, that I could not agree with you in 100% regarding Excuse! In Defense of Floyd and Cycling, but it’s just my opinion, which could be wrong