Landis Flunks Drug Test, - Wall Street Journal

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Landis Flunks Drug Test, Wall Street Journal - Jul 28, 2006 Last Thursday, the Tour de France saw one of its greatest single-day performances ever: Floyd Landis made up seven minutes and 38 seconds on a single, arduous day, putting himself in position to win the race on Sunday. But Mr. Landis's urine that evening tested positive for an abnormally high level of testosterone (relative to epitestosterone), suggesting he'd used a banned muscle-building substance. Yesterday, his team suspended him. If a backup test confirms the result, he will likely be stripped of his Tour de France title. Mr. Landis denies he took testosterone. Here's what's making racing fans and doping experts scratch their heads: Any testosterone Mr. Landis took during the race would likely kick in somewhere around ... now. Or maybe next week. Certainly not in time to help him much in his quest for the yellow jersey. Charles Yesalis, a retired Pennsylvania State University professor and a consultant on sports doping issues, told the San Francisco Chronicle's Lance Williams, "Testosterone can help you recover, but I don't think it could make a meaningful difference in a week." However, Kelsey Nakanelua, an Olympic sprinter and graduate student who has studied performance-enhancing drugs, said a fast-acting testosterone derivative could give a "quick pop." The Boston Globe's Bonnie DeSimone, citing Dr. Yesalis and world-doping expert Gary Wadler, writes, "It would have been nonsensical for Landis to use testosterone as an instant fix. An elite rider who needed to perform well in a climbing stage as Landis did would be likely to turn to stimulants or blood-boosting techniques such as erythropoietin injections to improve oxygen processing capability, rather than using a strength-building substance like testosterone, they said."

URL: http://online.wsj.com/public/article...2eLa_qaIK1hPwB

Fri, 28 Jul 2006 15:15:00 GMT