Tour de France winner Landis tests positive


Recommended Posts

SOURCE

It is a bit of a stretch just yet to say that he is the biker who failed the test.

COPENHAGEN, Denmark ? Tour de France winner Floyd Landis failed to show up for a one-day race in Denmark on Thursday, a day after missing a scheduled event in the Netherlands.

Danish organizers said they had arranged a contract and plane tickets for Landis and Phonak teammates to participate in the 1,200-metre Grand Prix Jyske Bank race in Silkeborg, 240 kilometres west of Copenhagen.

"He was not on the plane," organizer Jesper Tikoeb said. "We don't know where he is. It's pretty mysterious. We know nothing, really nothing at all."

He said his calls to the Phonak team went unanswered.

Landis also failed to appear for the Acht van Chaam race in the Netherlands on Wednesday.

"We were told by the other two riders that he couldn't join because he was travelling with team manager (John) Lelangue to his doctor in Germany," event organizer Theo van der Westerlaken said. ``That's all we know."

The American racer did take part in a criterium race Tuesday in Stiphout, Netherlands, winning the event.

Cycling Services, which booked teams for both Dutch events, said it has been trying without success to get in contact with Phonak for an explanation.

Cycling Services spokesman Marten van Steen said another Phonak rider, Robert Hunter, indicated that Landis had gone to see his doctor in Germany for his hip problem.

Landis said during the Tour de France that he was riding with an arthritic hip and would need replacement surgery.

"I don't know any more than what I was told last night, that he (Landis) had trouble with his hip and needed to go to his doctor in Germany," another Phonak rider, Koos Moerenhout, said.

Contacted by the Associated Press, the Phonak press office referred calls to Lelangue. Calls to Lelangue's cellphone went unanswered, and messages weren't immediately returned.

Landis won the Tour de France on Sunday, keeping the title in U.S. hands for the eighth straight year after Lance Armstrong's record seven victories.

The International Cycling Union said Wednesday that a cyclist failed a doping test during the tour. It said the name, team and nationality won't be released until the testing process is completed, including the analysis of a backup sample.UCI did say the rider's team and national federation were notified, as well as national and world anti-doping authorities. USA Cycling has not been contacted by UCI, spokesman Andy Lee said Wednesday. U.S. Anti-Doping Agency spokeswoman Carla O'Connell said that group had no comment.b>

On the eve of the Tour's start, nine riders ? including pre-race favourites Jan Ullrich and Ivan Basso ? were ousted, implicated in a Spanish doping investigation.

Nevermind, I see this and see that he has been explicitly named:

http://www.eurosport.com/cycling/tour-de-f...sto933039.shtml

_41921284_landis203_bodyap.jpg

PARIS (Reuters) - Tour de France winner Floyd Landis has tested positive for the male sex hormone testosterone, the U.S. rider's Phonak team said on Thursday, dealing a savage blow to cycling's most prestigious race.

"The Phonak Cycling Team was notified yesterday by (world cycling body) 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," Phonak said in a team statement.

It was the first time in the history of the showpiece event that its winner had given a positive drugs test during the race. If Landis's B sample confirms the result of his A sample, the 30-year-old is certain to be stripped of his victory.

In the 17th stage, a grueling mountain ride to Morzine in the French Alps a week ago, Landis produced an incredible comeback a day after a disastrous showing had appeared to ruin his chances of victory.

The rider from Pennsylvania crossed the line over five minutes and ahead of Spaniard Carlos Sastre and went on to win the race in Paris, succeeding compatriot Lance Armstrong who retired last year after winning the Tour a record seven times.

Phonak said Landis would not ride until the matter had been clarified and said that if the B sample confirmed the positive result, the rider would be dismissed.

Phonak added: "The team management and the rider were both totally surprised by this physiological result.

Continued here...

Whole Article Here

I just found it funny that he almost collapsed on the last climb in stage 16 which dropped him more than 8 minutes back. Then the next stage he suddenly blew everyone away and closed to less than 30 seconds from the leader. I hope it isn't true, but if it is, he deservs to have the title stripped.

Edit: Also, the title is misleading, he is still champion as of right now.

if eeryone will take drugs then it wont be very fair...since tehre will be alot of drugs with different effects etc. And in any case people will take something thats forbiden.

now about floyd landis...really sad if he really used any doping. no matter how much i dont like him its still not a cool way. but at least a spaniard will get 1nd place and german 2nd :D

This topic is now closed to further replies.
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
  • Posts

    • Thanks, Sony and Nintendo, you effectively killed platform-agnostic gaming. Long gone are the days when you could wish to play a specific game on whatever platform you were. Now, you have to buy the hardware just to play that single game. What, you're only interested in THAT game and nothing more? Bad luck, suck it and buy our console.
    • The AI data centers need it more than us so...let them gobble it all up at that price!
    • "CRAZIER than ever!" Crazy Taxi: World Tour is officially coming soon by Pulasthi Ariyasinghe Sega announced it is working on bringing back some of its classic franchises in 2023, and while it has taken some time, the company finally gave fans a look at one of these new projects at the Xbox Games Showcase today, which turned out to be a brand-new Crazy Taxi entry. Watch the debut trailer above, which has snippets of gameplay in between the cinematic bits while blasting a track from The Offspring. Dubbed Crazy Taxi World Tour, this installment is aptly being described as being "CRAZIER than ever!" The director behind the original, Kenji Kanno, is helming this new entry as well, which will come with access to five new cities to drive in, competitive multiplayer modes, a vehicle customization system, and more. Axel is returning as a protagonist as well, but this time a mystery driver is offering him the opportunity to take his adventures to the streets in other countries. This will involve Axel chasing down masked villains that have somehow stolen his taxi, which means even more extreme missions and challenges to overcome. "From transporting passengers at top speed to tackling unique side missions and odd jobs across dynamic maps, there are countless ways to drive crazy and rake in big money," says Sega about this new installment after over 20 years. "Perform outrageous drifts, catch insane air, and drive at crazy speeds across five different cities as you work to deliver passengers and complete a variety of missions and challenges." The studio has even confirmed an in-game Arcade Mode that players will be able to access containing the original games for plenty of nostalgic action. Crazy Taxi: World Tour is currently slated to release sometime in 2027 across PC, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5, and Nintendo Switch 2.
    • This and Crazy Taxi are the two games that interested me the most from this showcase.
  • Recent Achievements

    • Proficient
      Eric Biran went up a rank
      Proficient
    • Dedicated
      Conjor earned a badge
      Dedicated
    • Week One Done
      Windows Guy earned a badge
      Week One Done
    • Dedicated
      Mark Spruce earned a badge
      Dedicated
    • Collaborator
      conkir earned a badge
      Collaborator
  • Popular Contributors

    1. 1
      +primortal
      492
    2. 2
      PsYcHoKiLLa
      248
    3. 3
      Steven P.
      71
    4. 4
      +Edouard
      69
    5. 5
      ATLien_0
      67
  • Tell a friend

    Love Neowin? Tell a friend!