When I first saw the article today my initial response was, “is this a joke? He can’t be that stupid!”
It’s not a joke.
According to every reliable news source in the world, Floyd Landis tested positive for testosterone after Stage 17 of the 2006 Tour de France (remember? the one where I said that he had “more tricks up his sleeve?”). This has even been confirmed by Team Phonak.
We will now await the test of his B sample, and if that tests positive too, I suppose he’ll be stripped of his yellow jersey. In the meantime, he has been suspended by Phonak and will be fired if the B sample tests positive too.
The Phonak web site has been impossible to reach all day (too much traffic, I suppose), but Velo News printed the following statement from Team Phonak:
The Phonak Cycling Team was notified yesterday by the UCI of an unusual level of Testosteron/Epitestosteron ratio in the test made on Floyd Landis after stage 17 of the Tour de France.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 to prove either that this result is coming from a natural process or that this is resulting from a mistake in the confirmation.
In application of the Pro Tour Ethical Code, the rider will not race anymore until this problem is totally clear.
If the result of the B sample analysis confirms the result of the A sample the rider will be dismissed and will then pass the corresponding endocrinological examinations.
Please understand that we cannot at this time give you more detailed comments.
There’s a great story over on Sports Illustrated’s web site that I highly recommend. It gives you hope that perhaps Floyd did not actually partake of any added testosterone that isn’t already naturally occurring in his body. Like Austin Murphy, the writer of that article, I sorely want to believe Floyd’s denial of guilt, but only time will tell.
Today’s final stage of the 2006 Tour de France was, as expected, entirely ceremonial. Floyd Landis toasted with champagne as he rode into Paris and none of the four major prize classifications/jerseys changed after the results of the stage were in.