Landis: Final blow for TDF
2006-07-27 16:52
London - Confirmation of a positive drugs
test for Tour de France winner Floyd Landis on Thursday is the
final blow for a race beset by doping problems before it had
even started.
Landis's main rivals for the title, Jan Ullrich of Germany
and Ivan Basso of Italy, were withdrawn immediately before the
start of the Tour in Strasbourg after they were linked to a
Spanish doping investigation.
Ullrich, the 1997 champion, and Giro d'Italia winner Basso
both denied any involvement. Ullrich was subsequently sacked by
his T-Mobile team.
T-Mobile also suspended his team mate Oscar Sevilla and
sporting director Rudy Pevenage.
The entire Astana-Wuerth were withdrawn after five of their
riders were found on a list provided by the Spanish police.
As a result the peleton was cut from 21 to 20 teams and from
189 to 176 riders.
The investigation came to light in May when the Spanish
Civil Guard raided addresses in Madrid and Zaragoza and found
anabolic steroids, equipment used for blood tranfusions and more
than 100 bags of frozen blood.
Tour de France winner Floyd Landis's testosterone levels were found to be unusually high in an official doping test during the race, the Phonak cycling team announced on Thursday.
The Swiss-based team said on its website that it was notified by the International Cycling Union (UCI) on Wednesday of "an unusual level of Testosteron/Epitestosteron ratio in the test made on Floyd Landis after stage 17 of the Tour de France."
Regained the yellow jersey
The US rider will ask for counter analysis in the coming days, it added. The B sample test will be again carried out by France's national anti-doping laboratory at Chatenay-Malabry.
The test was done on the evening of his victory in the 17th stage of the Tour de France to Morzine when he managed to claim the mountainous stage victory after a 130km solo breakaway.
The 30-year-old American regained the yellow jersey two days after winning in Morzine and won the race overall in Paris on July 23.
The news comes as mystery surrounded the whereabouts of the American champion after he withdrew from two races in the Netherlands and Denmark the day after cycling's world governing body UCI announced a rider on the Tour had failed a doping test.
The ANP Dutch news agency said Landis pulled out of a race in Chaam on Wednesday evening after medical advice but this reason for not appearing was not confirmed by race organisers.
It was also discovered that Landis would not be coming to Thursday's Grand Prix Jyske Bank race, the Danish organisers said in a statement.
Landis did show top form however to win the Stiphout criterium in the Netherlands on Tuesday night.