Landis should have asked armstrong what he was using 
Team says Landis tested positive during Tour de France
By STEPHEN WILSON, AP Sports Writer
July 27, 2006
2006 Tour de France winner Floyd Landis of the US waves the US flag as he rides down the Champs-Elysees avenue in Paris following the final stage of the 93rd Tour de France cycling race between Antony, south of Paris, and Paris, in this Sunday, July 23, 2006 file photo. Landis tested positive for high levels of testosterone during the race, his Phonak team said Thursday July 27, 2006. The statement came a day after the UCI, cycling's governing body, said an unidentified rider had failed a drug test during the tour.
LONDON (AP) -- Floyd Landis' stunning Tour de France victory just four days earlier was thrown into question Thursday when his team, Phonak, said he tested positive for high levels of testosterone during the race.
The team suspended Landis, pending results of the backup "B" sample of his drug test.
The Swiss-based Phonak team said it was notified by the UCI on Wednesday that Landis' sample showed "an unusual level of testosterone/epitestosterone" when he was tested after stage 17 of the race last Thursday.
"The team management and the rider were both totally surprised of this physiological result," the Phonak statement said.
Efforts to reach Landis were not immediately successful.
Landis made a remarkable comeback in that Alpine stage, racing far ahead of the field for a solo win that moved him from 11th to third in the overall standings. He regained the leader's yellow jersey two days later.
Landis rode the Tour with a degenerative hip condition that he has said will require surgery in the coming weeks or months.
Arlene Landis, his mother, said Thursday that she wouldn't blame her son if he was taking medication to treat the pain in his injured hip, but "if it's something worse than that, then he doesn't deserve to win."
"I didn't talk to him since that hit the fan, but I'm keeping things even keel until I know what the facts are," she told The Associated Press in a phone interview from her home in Farmersville, Pennsylvania. "I know that this is a temptation to every rider but I'm not going to jump to conclusions ... It disappoints me."
The Phonak statement came a day after the UCI, cycling's world governing body, said an unidentified rider had failed a drug test during the Tour.
Phonak said Landis would ask for an analysis of his backup sample "to prove either that this result is coming from a natural process or that this is resulting from a mistake."
Landis has been suspended by his team pending the results. If the second sample confirms the initial finding, he will be fired, Phonak said.
USA Cycling spokesman Andy Lee said that organization could not comment on Landis.
"Because it's an anti-doping matter, it's USA Cycling's policy not to comment on that subject out of respect for the process and Floyd's rights," Lee said. "Right now, we have to let the process proceed and we can't comment on it."
2006 Tour de France winner Floyd Landis of the US, holds up his trophy after the final stage of the 93rd Tour de France cycling race between Antony, south of Paris, and Paris, Sunday, July 23, 2006. Landis tested positive for high levels of testosterone during the race, his Phonak team said Thursday July 27, 2006. The statement came a day after the UCI, cycling's governing body, said an unidentified rider had failed a drug test during the tour.
Carla O'Connell, publications and communications director for the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, said: "I'll make this very brief: No comment."
Under World Anti-Doping Agency regulations, a ratio of testosterone to epitestosterone greater than 4:1 is considered a positive result and subject to investigation. The threshold was recently lowered from 6:1. The most likely natural ratio of testosterone to epitestosterone in humans is 1:1.
Testosterone is included as an anabolic steroid on WADA's list of banned substances, and its use can be punished by a two-year ban.
Landis wrapped up his Tour de France win on Sunday, keeping the title in U.S. hands for the eighth straight year. Lance Armstrong, long dogged by doping whispers and allegations, won the previous seven. Armstrong never has tested positive for drugs and vehemently has denied doping.
Speculation that Landis had tested positive spread earlier Thursday after he failed to show up for a one-day race in Denmark on Thursday. A day earlier, he missed a scheduled event in the Netherlands.
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.
The names of Ullrich and Basso turned up on a list of 56 cyclists who allegedly had contact with Spanish doctor Eufemiano Fuentes, who's at the center of the Spanish doping probe.
Associated Press writer Michael Rubinkam in Allentown, Pa., and AP Sports Writer Arnie Stapleton in Denver contributed to this report.
By STEPHEN WILSON, AP Sports Writer
July 27, 2006
2006 Tour de France winner Floyd Landis of the US waves the US flag as he rides down the Champs-Elysees avenue in Paris following the final stage of the 93rd Tour de France cycling race between Antony, south of Paris, and Paris, in this Sunday, July 23, 2006 file photo. Landis tested positive for high levels of testosterone during the race, his Phonak team said Thursday July 27, 2006. The statement came a day after the UCI, cycling's governing body, said an unidentified rider had failed a drug test during the tour.
LONDON (AP) -- Floyd Landis' stunning Tour de France victory just four days earlier was thrown into question Thursday when his team, Phonak, said he tested positive for high levels of testosterone during the race.
The team suspended Landis, pending results of the backup "B" sample of his drug test.
The Swiss-based Phonak team said it was notified by the UCI on Wednesday that Landis' sample showed "an unusual level of testosterone/epitestosterone" when he was tested after stage 17 of the race last Thursday.
"The team management and the rider were both totally surprised of this physiological result," the Phonak statement said.
Efforts to reach Landis were not immediately successful.
Landis made a remarkable comeback in that Alpine stage, racing far ahead of the field for a solo win that moved him from 11th to third in the overall standings. He regained the leader's yellow jersey two days later.
Landis rode the Tour with a degenerative hip condition that he has said will require surgery in the coming weeks or months.
Arlene Landis, his mother, said Thursday that she wouldn't blame her son if he was taking medication to treat the pain in his injured hip, but "if it's something worse than that, then he doesn't deserve to win."
"I didn't talk to him since that hit the fan, but I'm keeping things even keel until I know what the facts are," she told The Associated Press in a phone interview from her home in Farmersville, Pennsylvania. "I know that this is a temptation to every rider but I'm not going to jump to conclusions ... It disappoints me."
The Phonak statement came a day after the UCI, cycling's world governing body, said an unidentified rider had failed a drug test during the Tour.
Phonak said Landis would ask for an analysis of his backup sample "to prove either that this result is coming from a natural process or that this is resulting from a mistake."
Landis has been suspended by his team pending the results. If the second sample confirms the initial finding, he will be fired, Phonak said.
USA Cycling spokesman Andy Lee said that organization could not comment on Landis.
"Because it's an anti-doping matter, it's USA Cycling's policy not to comment on that subject out of respect for the process and Floyd's rights," Lee said. "Right now, we have to let the process proceed and we can't comment on it."
2006 Tour de France winner Floyd Landis of the US, holds up his trophy after the final stage of the 93rd Tour de France cycling race between Antony, south of Paris, and Paris, Sunday, July 23, 2006. Landis tested positive for high levels of testosterone during the race, his Phonak team said Thursday July 27, 2006. The statement came a day after the UCI, cycling's governing body, said an unidentified rider had failed a drug test during the tour.
Carla O'Connell, publications and communications director for the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, said: "I'll make this very brief: No comment."
Under World Anti-Doping Agency regulations, a ratio of testosterone to epitestosterone greater than 4:1 is considered a positive result and subject to investigation. The threshold was recently lowered from 6:1. The most likely natural ratio of testosterone to epitestosterone in humans is 1:1.
Testosterone is included as an anabolic steroid on WADA's list of banned substances, and its use can be punished by a two-year ban.
Landis wrapped up his Tour de France win on Sunday, keeping the title in U.S. hands for the eighth straight year. Lance Armstrong, long dogged by doping whispers and allegations, won the previous seven. Armstrong never has tested positive for drugs and vehemently has denied doping.
Speculation that Landis had tested positive spread earlier Thursday after he failed to show up for a one-day race in Denmark on Thursday. A day earlier, he missed a scheduled event in the Netherlands.
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.
The names of Ullrich and Basso turned up on a list of 56 cyclists who allegedly had contact with Spanish doctor Eufemiano Fuentes, who's at the center of the Spanish doping probe.
Associated Press writer Michael Rubinkam in Allentown, Pa., and AP Sports Writer Arnie Stapleton in Denver contributed to this report.
