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Landis news conference today...

McGRP01

McGRP01

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Feb 6, 2003
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MADRID, Spain(AP) Floyd Landis plans to give a news conference Friday in Madrid about the positive doping result that threatens to wipe out the American's victory in the Tour de France, his lawyer's office said.

It would be the American cyclist's first public appearance since Thursday's announcement by his team, Phonak, that he tested positive for abnormal levels of testosterone after the 17th stage of the Tour.

The office of Landis's lawyer, Jose Maria Buxeda, told The Associated Press that a news conference with the cyclist will be held at 11:30 a.m. EDT in the Spanish capital.

Landis denied any wrongdoing in a teleconference with reporters on Thursday and vowed to clear his name.

"All I'm asking for is that I be given a chance to prove I'm innocent," he said.

Asked repeatedly what might have tripped his test, Landis refused to lay blame on any one thing.

"As to what actually caused it on that particular day, I can only speculate," he said.

Landis had an exemption from the Tour to take cortisone shots for pain in his hip, which will require surgery for a degenerative condition, and was taking an oral medication for hyperthyroidism. He and his doctor were consulting with experts to see if those drugs might have thrown off his testosterone levels.

News of Landis' positive test shocked the cycling world, which has been under a cloud following a wide-ranging doping investigation in Spain that led to the barring of several of the world's leading cyclists from the tournament.

On the eve of the Tour's start, nine riders _ including pre-race favorites Jan Ullrich and Ivan Basso _ were ousted, implicated in a Spanish doping investigation.
 
Heidi

Heidi

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Aug 22, 2001
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reflux said:
Worthwhile? I listened to a conference call with Landis that was made yesterday. It was interesting enough, but contained nothing that hasn't already been said and discussed.
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I thought it interesting how supportive he seemed of Floyd when in the past he has clearly had anti-Lance sentiments.
 
Alfred

Alfred

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Jul 27, 2006
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Heidi said:
I thought it interesting how supportive he seemed of Floyd when in the past he has clearly had anti-Lance sentiments.
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Floyd hasn't stolen his thunder. :think:

In additon, Floyd doesn't seem like an arrogant ass to me.
 
rooftest

rooftest

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Jul 10, 2005
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Heidi said:
I thought it interesting how supportive he seemed of Floyd when in the past he has clearly had anti-Lance sentiments.
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I've seen that true of the French, Dick Pound, and a lot of other people I expected to rip on him - nobody wants it to be true.
 
Alfred

Alfred

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Jul 27, 2006
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Heidi said:
Actually, with stage 17 he kind of did. People are saying it was the single best stage ever!
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Yeah, but that is still based on interpretation by people. Lance changed numbers on the books. I am sure that would be hard for me to stomach too. I wonder if people ever consider the people they affected when they set new records though.
 
McGRP01

McGRP01

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By MAR ROMAN - Associated Press Writer

MADRID, Spain(AP) Floyd Landis said the high testosterone that showed up in a drug screening at the Tour de France is the result of his natural metabolism _ not doping of any kind _ and he will undergo more tests to prove it.

"We will explain to the world why this is not a doping case but a natural occurrence," Landis said at a news conference Friday, his first public appearance since the test result cast doubt on one of the most stirring comeback wins in Tour history.

Landis said in a Thursday teleconference that he had no idea what caused his elevated testosterone levels following the race's 17th stage last week, where he made his heroic charge into the Alps. But on Friday, he was adamant that the reading was the result of his natural physiology.

"I would like to make absolutely clear that I am not in any doping process," said Landis, wearing a baseball cap turned backward and a white shirt with the name of his Phonak team. "I ask not to be judged by anyone, much less sentenced by anyone."

Landis is still awaiting results from a backup sample, which will clear him if found to be negative. Switzerland-based Phonak said it would ask that the backup sample be tested in the next few days.

Landis's lawyer, Luis Sanz, said he fully expected the backup test to come back with the same result, since the elevated testosterone was produced naturally by Landis's body. The 30-year-old cyclist said Friday that he would undergo additional testing to prove it.

"I will procede to under go all these tests ... to accredit that the levels that I've had during the Tour and all my career are natural and produced by my own organism," he said.

Until those tests are conducted, Landis said, "I ask not to be judged, or much less to be sentenced by anyone."

If ultimately proven guilty, he could be stripped of the Tour title and fired from the team.
 
LordOpie

LordOpie

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Oct 17, 2002
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Isn't the test comparing two hormones in his own body to each other? And that it isn't necessarily too much of that hormone compared to other people, but compared to the other hormone?

Sounded like one was normal level and the other was too low? Isn't that reasonably possible on it's own?
 
jacksonpt

jacksonpt

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Jul 22, 2002
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LordOpie said:
Isn't the test comparing two hormones in his own body to each other? And that it isn't necessarily too much of that hormone compared to other people, but compared to the other hormone?

Sounded like one was normal level and the other was too low? Isn't that reasonably possible on it's own?
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Yes, that's exactly the situation - one was normal, the other was off-the-charts low.
 
Cant Climb

Cant Climb

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May 9, 2004
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jacksonpt said:
Yes, that's exactly the situation - one was normal, the other was off-the-charts low.
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using a ratio seems kinda of dumb......seems like that test needs to reconfigured......if he has a normal level of testosterone why would the ratio matter...?..the ratio should only matter if his Epi was normal, which it isnt.....
 
Heidi

Heidi

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Reflux - maybe they are referring to this:

However, there is one major wrinkle in the Landis case that is now making the rounds. John Eustice, appearing on ESPN with Dan Patrick, stated that it’s possible Floyd’s result is a false positive, because his testosterone level is low, not high. That corresponds to both the now-known fact that Landis was (legally) taking cortisone shots for the avascular necrosis in his hip (cortisone reduces the body's natural production of testosterone), and the wording of the Phonak press release, which stated that Landis’ A sample had returned “an unusual level” on his T:E analysis (no mention was made of results of any CIR analysis, if it was done). Despite the wording of the release, almost every media outlet in the world that has mentioned the test has said that Landis tested positive for high levels of testosterone. As of press time, Eustice had not responded to an e-mailed request for comment on the origin of his knowledge of Floyd’s testosterone levels.

It's an excerpt from this article: http://boulderreport.bicycling.com/2006/07/tour_de_specula.html
 
Zutroy

Zutroy

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Dec 9, 2004
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LordOpie said:
If Floyd proves he didn't dope, does the accusing organization have to pay for damages?
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Well that depends on the country. I know the Astana guys in Spain are able to sue for damages, since they were cleared of any wrong doing. The real question is the B-test. If that comes out normal, there are going to be some serious questions raised about and athletes rights and such. If it fails and they end up proving it's a physiological issue, then nothing much at all is going to happen.
 
vitox

vitox

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Sep 23, 2001
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Cant Climb said:
using a ratio seems kinda of dumb......seems like that test needs to reconfigured......if he has a normal level of testosterone why would the ratio matter...?..the ratio should only matter if his Epi was normal, which it isnt.....
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yea it should account for the absolute values in addition to the ratio, im sure if he proves innocent they will change this, but where is the official word on that it was his epitestosterone level that was low that made the ratio so different

btw top dopers have used masking agents for a long time and it should be no surprise if this doesnt get mentioned as a possible cause of weird levels.
 
LordOpie

LordOpie

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Oct 17, 2002
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vitox said:
btw top dopers have used masking agents for a long time and it should be no surprise if this doesnt get mentioned as a possible cause of weird levels.
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you're probably right :( but Floyd should sue for slander.
 
OGRipper

OGRipper

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Feb 3, 2004
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There are way too many questions and possible explanations to justify going public. But it's more an ethical issue than a legal one. Not completely sure but if there was a reasonable basis for the stories, it will be difficult to nail anyone for libel or slander.

Doping sucks. It's a no-win for Floyd. To win he will need to expose flaws in the doping control systems, even though I seem to recall him consistently arguing for more testing.
 
The Toninator

The Toninator

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Jul 6, 2001
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He didnt ask because he know's it's going to show positive. So there's quite a bit of misleading conjecture in the press from him, his doctors, his agents, his team and a plethora of other sources.
 
Wumpus

Wumpus

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Dec 25, 2003
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Westy said:
I guess there is a test to see if the hormones are natural or synthetic. He could be asking for those results to be made public if he is confident of this condition being natural.
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You mean like this one:

cyclingnews said:
The tests performed on Landis' A sample included an Isotope Ratio Mass Spectrometry (IRMS) procedure, used to determine whether the testosterone is exogenous (contained within, but originating from outside the body) or endogenous (produced by the body itself). In the case of Landis, L'Equipe reported that the analysis found testosterone of artificial origin.

It's understood the French newspaper received this information from a source within Chatenay-Malabry labortory that conducted the test on Landis' sample.
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Heidi

Heidi

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Aug 22, 2001
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The Toninator said:
He didnt ask because he know's it's going to show positive. So there's quite a bit of misleading conjecture in the press from him, his doctors, his agents, his team and a plethora of other sources.
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Yah, I mean, his defense is that it was naturally high so he expects the B to come back positive.
 
Westy

Westy

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The Toninator said:
i will never ever believe ANYTHING L'Equipe prints. ever.
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I'll take their reports with a bit of skepticism but if I was Floyd and my tests were negative for synthetic testosterone I'd be all up in peoples faces about it. Floyd hasn't said chit about it.

From what I have read, facts about doping and testing not journalistic opinion, this will be the real nail in the coffin or a bit of evidence in Floyd's favor.
 
Zutroy

Zutroy

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Westy said:
I'll take their reports with a bit of skepticism but if I was Floyd and my tests were negative for synthetic testosterone I'd be all up in peoples faces about it. Floyd hasn't said chit about it.

From what I have read, facts about doping and testing not journalistic opinion, this will be the real nail in the coffin or a bit of evidence in Floyd's favor.
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I have a very hard time believing there is snythetic test in there, and if there is it came from Floyd. I mean really who the hell would would try that? Take it the day your trying to go out and win a stage when you know you'll be tested for sure. Then when it's made public go out and defend yourself everywhere including Larry King knowing in a couple days you're going to get popped cause that test is a simple test. It makes no freaking sense at all...........
 
Westy

Westy

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Nov 22, 2002
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Zutroy said:
I have a very hard time believing there is snythetic test in there, and if there is it came from Floyd. I mean really who the hell would would try that? Take it the day your trying to go out and win a stage when you know you'll be tested for sure. Then when it's made public go out and defend yourself everywhere including Larry King knowing in a couple days you're going to get popped cause that test is a simple test. It makes no freaking sense at all...........
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Believe what you want, all we have now are new leaks and what Floyd says. At some point the facts of the tests will be known.

Why would Floyd use Testosterone the day of stage 17? Who knows, maybe he was using it to sustain his levels that were supressed by the cortizone shots and he left a patch on a little too long.

I'd lile to believe he is innocent, but then again I thought Tyler was innocent at first too. Like the Who said, "don't get fooled again".
 
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