Tour de France winner Floyd Landis has given a positive drugs test, according to his Phonak team.

 

 

 

 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/other_s ... 221122.stm

 

 

 

The positive test came after stage 17 of the Tour, which saw Landis record an epic victory after struggling on the final climb the day before.

 

 

 

Landis has been suspended pending results of his B sample analysis.

 

 

 

The International Cycling Union (UCI) announced on Wednesday that a rider had failed a doping test but would not reveal his name.

 

 

 

"The Phonak Cycling Team was notified on Wednesday by the UCI of an unusual level of testosterone/epitestosterone ratio in the test made on Floyd Landis after stage 17 of the Tour de France," said a team statement.

 

 

 

"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 (B sample) to prove either that this result has come from a natural process or that this is the result of a mistake."

 

 

 

Phonak have also said that if the second sample confirms the positive test, Landis will be sacked.

 

 

 

Landis had already withdrawn from two races in Europe this week, Wednesday's Acht van Chaam street race in the Netherlands and Thursday's Jyske Bank Grand Prix in Denmark.

 

 

 

"Today, Phonak confirmed the cancellation. They could not say anything about why Landis has disappeared," said Jyske Bank Grand Prix spokesman Nils Finderup.

 

 

 

"We have tried to call him, to call his agent, and to call the head of the Phonak team, but no one has answered."

 

 

 

Organisers of the Acht van Chaam event were also angry at Landis' no-show.

 

 

 

"We have tried to contact Floyd and his manager but we have not been able to," said race agent John van den Akker.

 

 

 

"We are very annoyed. We have invested a lot of money to ensure his appearance and we would have expected some kind of explanation."

 

 

 

Landis finished 57 seconds ahead of Spain's Oscar Pereiro in the general classification to claim his first Tour de France title last weekend.

 

 

 

And I thought drugs in sports like athletics was ripe, cycling is just a joke. Every other rider seems to give a positive test. There's constant speculation about Lance Armstrong as well (although no hard evidence has ever been found).

 

 

 

This is why I can't take cycling seriously as a sport. As if the tight-hugging lycra was bad enough, the sport is fuelled by drugs.

I hate when people do that. Some guy at my school tested positive when he went for Javalien

I've read this in the Dutch newspapers that Landis didn't appear at the start of some cycling match somewhere in Holland. His team then said it was because of the injury he had at his hip, and he had to go to Germany quick to get it fixed in the hospital or something.

 

 

 

If it will be a confirmed doping case then that would be a great shame on the cycling sport. First they killed the tour removing Ullrich and Basso from it, and now this.

 

 

 

A shame.

Normally I'd give the guy the benefit of the doubt, considering how rigorous testing is in cycling, but you have to admit that the timing of his positive test is very curious indeed, the day of his miraculous comeback. It also seems odd that he's suddenly cancelling matches while he was doing just fine in the last one he was in.

unbelievable! :shame: i cannot beleive that.

 

 

 

that stage win was probably the best i have ever seen where he just tore the field apart. maybe rasmussen's win was special (4 hours out on his own winning the polka-dot in one day :o )

 

 

 

but, Landis :tut: he used to train in the night without his parents knowing but now this =[

I'm really angry. The only channels that the tour de france was shown on was itv3 and eurosports. There wasn't even highlights on normal channels. I didn't see any of it this year. :x

This is the reason that I can't watch cycling and track and field anymore, even baseball. Everytime someone breaks a new record or wins I always wonder was doping behind. I am not saying that only these sports have problems with doping but the other sports seem to manage their problems better.

Kinda makes you wonder a bit if humans have perhaps reached their limits of achievments naturally?

I knew the drugs were bad in cycling but this is the first time I've heard of a winner failing a test. People who cheat deserve to be banned from competitive sport for life.

I knew the drugs were bad in cycling but this is the first time I've heard of a winner failing a test. People who cheat deserve to be banned from competitive sport for life.

 

 

 

Your saying that every person who cheats should be banned. So everytime someone in soccer is offsides or gets a handball they should be banned. Everytime some in football is offsides they should be banned. I know I am being over the top. But come on every one makes mistakes does that mean they should be banned? What do you think pro sports would be like if every one who ever cheated was banned? I am not saying that cheating is a good thing but I think it would be better to look at evervy instance individually and then decide what the best punishment should be.

Have you seen the route of the tour de france before? It is very difficult. I'm not saying it justifies cheating but that's the reason there are so many drug tests and why people take drugs when cycling. It's a hard sport.

It's a shame really, they just did this massive clean in the sport, and now the winner of the biggest race turns out to be a doper :(

 

Bleh, the influance of Armstrong comes tru :x

 

 

 

OT.: cyclism is the only sport were they search for drug takers, Zidane once admitted he renewed his blood with more red cells, they just don't go afther soccer or tennis players like they go afther cyclists....

Hmm, cyclist in positive drugs test shocker? Not really. The sport is absolutely riddled with it. It's pretty much the same every year now, which is a shame because I really enjoy watching the race but it's hard to get enthusiastic about someone winning when in the back of your mind you're thinking that a significant minority (if not the majority) may be on drugs.

 

 

 

@ Phil: It wasn't the best of races this year anyway so you didn't miss much. I had to stay up till 1am every night to get to see any of it.

 

 

 

df

Even if I won something due to the influence of drugs, I could never feel like ive actually achieved anything.

 

 

 

Pointless really.

Even if I won something due to the influence of drugs, I could never feel like ive actually achieved anything.

 

 

 

Pointless really.

 

 

 

These guys feel like they are gods, they would feel they've accomplished something.

I knew the drugs were bad in cycling but this is the first time I've heard of a winner failing a test. People who cheat deserve to be banned from competitive sport for life.

 

 

 

Your saying that every person who cheats should be banned. So everytime someone in soccer is offsides or gets a handball they should be banned. Everytime some in football is offsides they should be banned. I know I am being over the top. But come on every one makes mistakes does that mean they should be banned? What do you think pro sports would be like if every one who ever cheated was banned? I am not saying that cheating is a good thing but I think it would be better to look at evervy instance individually and then decide what the best punishment should be.

 

 

 

I meant those who cheat in that way. I think that using a drug to beat an opponent is downright dirty. To do that you have to make the decision to cheat before you even get onto the feild/ track /we. Once you are competing, you may cheat in the heat of the moment, that I can accept. So I wouldn't ban every cheat just everyone who cheats with drugs. That was my original message it just came out wrong :D .

Even if I won something due to the influence of drugs, I could never feel like ive actually achieved anything.

 

 

 

Pointless really.

 

 

 

A very good point.

I knew the drugs were bad in cycling but this is the first time I've heard of a winner failing a test. People who cheat deserve to be banned from competitive sport for life.

 

 

 

Your saying that every person who cheats should be banned. So everytime someone in soccer is offsides or gets a handball they should be banned. Everytime some in football is offsides they should be banned. I know I am being over the top. But come on every one makes mistakes does that mean they should be banned? What do you think pro sports would be like if every one who ever cheated was banned? I am not saying that cheating is a good thing but I think it would be better to look at evervy instance individually and then decide what the best punishment should be.

 

 

 

I'm sorry, but that's a stupid comparison. Being offside or make hands is totally different from using drugs.

Even if I won something due to the influence of drugs, I could never feel like ive actually achieved anything.

 

 

 

Pointless really.

 

 

 

These guys feel like they are gods, they would feel they've accomplished something.

 

 

 

I never said they didnt. I said IF I were to win.

Even if I won something due to the influence of drugs, I could never feel like ive actually achieved anything.

 

 

 

Pointless really.

 

 

 

These guys feel like they are gods, they would feel they've accomplished something.

 

 

 

I never said they didnt. I said IF I were to win.

 

 

 

I'm not disagreeing with you for goodness sakes... I'm just saying they would.

I personally don't think I would have felt anything for winning either if i used steroids.

Pfft, hardly amazing. I'm ab-so-lutely sure that 80% of all cyclists have at some point used doping. The sport is more corrupt than Al Capone's guts.

 

And for the people that will say it only gets worse, Eddy Merckx, likely the best cyclist ever, admitted that in his time, probably even more doping was used. He claims he never used any, and I believe him because he's still in excellent health and he was so supreme in his days, that he didn't need any either.

 

 

 

I personally don't think I would have felt anything for winning either if i used steroids.

 

 

 

How about the money?

I'm really angry. The only channels that the tour de france was shown on was itv3 and eurosports. There wasn't even highlights on normal channels. I didn't see any of it this year. :x

 

 

 

 

 

aww that sucks, i watched all of it because it was on 5 channels that i had.

 

It was good too i was enjoyin it .. untill... Floyd.. :shame:

I knew the drugs were bad in cycling but this is the first time I've heard of a winner failing a test. People who cheat deserve to be banned from competitive sport for life.

 

 

 

Your saying that every person who cheats should be banned. So everytime someone in soccer is offsides or gets a handball they should be banned. Everytime some in football is offsides they should be banned. I know I am being over the top. But come on every one makes mistakes does that mean they should be banned? What do you think pro sports would be like if every one who ever cheated was banned? I am not saying that cheating is a good thing but I think it would be better to look at evervy instance individually and then decide what the best punishment should be.

 

 

 

I'm sorry, but that's a stupid comparison. Being offside or make hands is totally different from using drugs.

 

 

 

Read my other post in this thread :D