August 01, 2006

Outside Testosterone Found in Landis' Urine

A test to determine whether testosterone found in Tour de France winner Floyd Landis' urine was synthetic found some of it wasn't produced by his Landis' body:

The French national antidoping laboratory in Châtenay-Malabry performed a carbon isotope ratio test on the first of Landis’s two urine samples provided after Stage 17, the person, who is in the cycling union’s antidoping department, said in an interview yesterday.

That test, which differentiates between natural and synthetic testosterone, was done after Landis’s ratio of testosterone to epitestosterone was found to be more than twice what is allowed under World Anti-Doping Agency rules, the person said. Regulations limit the ratio to four to one. The range for an average person is between one to one and two to one.

Landis' doctor Brent Kay hoped this latest test was a false positive. About the testosterone to epitestosterone ratio that put Landis in this situation Kay said, "Although Floyd’s was elevated, it’s not off the chart or anything." That's not reassuring to Landis' fans. Now, with evidence of outside testosterone Landis and his medical and legal team will have even more explaining to do.

"New Finding Challenges Tour Champ’s Claim"

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