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Floyd Landis really let me down

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  • #1

    Floyd Landis really let me down

    For the past four years I have thrown myself head first into OLN & Le Tour de France. Getting up each morning between 2:30 a.m. and 3:30 a.m. for almost the entire month of July to watch the Peleton race through the ever so beautiful French countryside.

    This year was gonna be the first year without Lance Armstrong in the race as he retired from Team Discovery. I was hoping another American would be up to the task of defending the Yellow Jersey, and it turned out to be Floyd Landis.
    Landis was a former Discovery rider with Armstrong for two years. He signed later with Phonak to make his own name. Everything was perfect...the whole storyline behind Landis and his hip. Combine that with the last big stage in the Alps in which Landis almost made up the entire time he lost the day before! It was an amazing feat for a guy who can't even cross his legs!
    But the the news that one, and only rider tested positive for testostrone, and it had to be Floyd Landis! Why Floyd, why?
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  • #2
    Re: Floyd Landis really let me down

    We should hear the results of the second test over the weekend; let's wait for that to see if he gets redeemed...or crucified. I think he deserves that much, at least.

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    • #3
      Re: Floyd Landis really let me down

      Even his legal team is conceding that "Sample B" will show the same results as "Sample A." A differing result is almost unheard of. Sure would be nice, but the messier Landis gets in trying to talk his way out of it (cortisone! dehydration! conspiracy!), the less confident I am in its chances. Hell, even if the Hail Mary comes through, and Landis is "vindicated," he won't really be, will he? The cloud will hover for years (as Armstrong is quite aware).

      I'm really bummed, too. I have a friend who's passionate about cycling and the Tour, and he of course loved tracking Lance's many victories. So I was paying attention this year, was crushed by Landis' breakdown, and totally blown away by his turnaround the next day. I was ecstatic about his win.

      I don't get it, though. Considering the scandals throughout sports and especially the Tour, given Lance's experiences, given the scrutiny and constant testing, and guaranteed testing of a stage winner... why would anyone -- let alone someone watched as closely as Landis -- try to mess with his system? To me that's the strongest argument in defense of the guy... it seems insane that someone could be that stupid.

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      • #4
        Re: Floyd Landis really let me down

        I'll reserve judgment until all the tests are in.

        I'm very skeptical of the lab and their procedures. The initial report stated that the ratio of testosterone to epitestosterone exceeded the 4:1 legal limit. The press then jumped all over that and claimed Landis had "high levels of testosterone." THE LAB HAS YET TO RELEASE THE ACTUAL LEVEL OF TESTOSTERONE DETECTED. Then, they "leaked" a report that synthetic testosterone was detected, which the press also jumped all over. There's been no evidence of this offered, just the "say-so."

        It's like being told that you have a cholesterol problem, but not knowing the overall cholesterol count, the HDL count, and the LDL count.

        It was also reported that a one-shot application of testosterone would not enhance the performance of the athlete and that for there to be an effect, the treatment would have to be on-going over a significant length of time. Since Landis previously tested "clean" during the Tour, are we to assume that he either "beat the test," or the tests were "faulty" in not detecting it?
        Last edited by oceanpacific; August 3, 2006, 02:31 PM.

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        • #5
          Re: Floyd Landis really let me down

          nice to see some interest in this race. while it was going on, i didn't see any posting on the subject so i just assumed that it wasn't something that anyone was interested in... yeah, amazing if he did it on purpose. how in the world could he think that he'd be able to get away with it??? on the other hand, if he's innocent, i'd like to know how his body could have produced any synthetic testosterone or where it might have come from... doesn't look promising....
          525,600 minutes, 525,000 moments so dear. 525,600 minutes - how do you measure, measure a year?

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          • #6
            Re: Floyd Landis really let me down

            We're assuming that the allegation of "synthetic" testosterone is true. This may well not be so. And I'm still waiting for results showing the level of testosterone detected.

            I've stayed up the past four years watching OLN's coverage of the Tour: three of Armstrong's amazing seven-year run and this year's Landis win. The Tour de France is not just merely "riding a bicycle," as some local sportscasters have scoffed at in deriding cyclists' inclusion as athletes. They devalue Lance Armstrong's selection by ESPN viewers as Best Male Athlete.

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            • #7
              Re: Floyd Landis really let me down

              Originally posted by oceanpacific
              We're assuming that the allegation of "synthetic" testosterone is true. This may well not be so. And I'm still waiting for results showing the level of testosterone detected.

              I've stayed up the past four years watching OLN's coverage of the Tour: three of Armstrong's amazing seven-year run and this year's Landis win. The Tour de France is not just merely "riding a bicycle," as some local sportscasters have scoffed at in deriding cyclists' inclusion as athletes. They devalue Lance Armstrong's selection by ESPN viewers as Best Male Athlete.
              I like you have gotten up early for the past five years to watch Lance's dominate this event too. I was really interested to see who would step up and fill the void with Armstrong's departure from the sport. Oh course I was overly happy to see another American win...but I truly didn't expect Landis to win it. I was thinking more in the line of Discovery's George Hincapie, Or Levi Lepheimmer....but Landis ,no!

              This whole"roid" stuff has been around biking for some time now. As much I enjoyed Armstrong's climb to the top of the Peleton, I always viewed it with suspect. Greg LeMond was perhaps America's only clean tour champ....ever!

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              • #8
                Re: Floyd Landis really let me down

                Landis Stripped of Tour Title After Doping Ban Upheld
                Floyd Landis became the first Tour de France winner stripped of his title for drug use when arbitrators upheld findings that he used synthetic testosterone in winning the 2006 edition of cycling's most prestigious race. A majority of the three-member panel said isotope tests confirmed the presence of the strength-building hormone manufactured outside Landis's body in urine samples.

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                • #9
                  Re: Floyd Landis really let me down

                  That darn Tour de France! They go right past us most years, down here in the SW. Or we get stuck because they're going to be passing where we've been fishing, or something. Or we can't get into the town down the road because their sleeping there and the traffic is blocked for the morning's departure.

                  And now this. I have to tell you that even the French are sick of it, and there have been calls to just stop the whole shebang.
                  http://thissmallfrenchtown.blogspot.com/
                  http://thefrenchneighbor.blogspot.com/

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