French Newspaper Reports that Landis is Still Guilty of Doping
“L’Equipe” reported on Monday that follow-up testing on back-up urine samples submitted by last years Tour de France winner were found to have traces of synthetic testosterone.
Seven back-up samples were tested and the lab reported clear evidence of the synthetic hormone.
Landis questions the results, because the lab refused to let his expert be present while the test was being conducted. The lab of Chatenay-Malabry maintains that the original agreement was to have Landis’ expert accompanied by two experts from the USADA and since the USADA experts didn’t show, they weren’t required to let Lands’ expert in.
The lab at Chatenay-Malabry has been accused of false positives in the past and is criticized by a number of professional cyclists, including seven time Tour champion Lance Armstrong.
If the positive results hold up, Landis will face a two year ban from competitive cycling and he will be the first rider in the century plus history of the Tour to be stripped of his crown.
I would think with the strict anti-doping policies strongly maintained in every country where competitive racing takes place, the riders would think twice before using a banned substance. The Tour de France is the biggest cycling event worldwide, it would take a pretty naive and desperate rider to think he could get away with using an illegal substance to win a race of that magnitude.
Maybe if Floyd Landis gets stripped of his Tour de France title, it will make other prospective riders think twice before considering using anything but intense training sessions to try and score a victory.
Floyd Landis, Tour De France, cycling, doping, anti-doping, synthetic hormone, synthetic testosterone
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