Le Scandal Uncovered: Part 1
August 6th 2006 23:36
Bonjour tout le monde!
I’m sure you’ve been following Le Scandal in the media over the past week. Controversy has never touched the Tour de France in such a drastic way before: this is the first time in the race’s history that the winner has ever been involved in a drugs scandal.
But over this week, I have been confused. Could Landis be telling the truth: that high levels of testosterone can occur naturally in elite sportsmen? How does a boost in testosterone levels help an athlete to cheat? I am hoping that this post will answer a few unsolved questions…
We’ll start with the background to the case and see if we can come up with some answers. The events started on July 27, when Landis’ team, Phonak, announced that Landis’ ‘A’ sample had tested positive to an unusually high ratio of testosterone to epitestosterone. The sample in question was taken from Landis after his dramatic ride in Stage 17 (after a disastrous ride in Stage 16, Landis staged a solo breakaway, finishing 120 kilometres and over 9 minutes ahead of his closest opponent. He was ranked 11th overall after Stage 16 and this fantastic ride, pushed him back up into 3rd place in the General Classification.) A report on the ride can be found here. (wikipedia.org)
When the news about the positive test was reported, Landis immediately began to protest his innocence. He was suspended from Phonak, pending the results of his ‘B’ sample. On July 28, he appeared on ‘Larry King Live’ (a TV show in the US) and continued to proclaim his innocence. While on the show, Landis’ former team mate and seven time Tour winner Lance Armstrong called to show his support. Armstrong said:
"The only other thing I will say and add to this that, you know, without getting too -- too crazy or too much of a conspiracy theorist is that keep it in mind the laboratory here that found this abnormal reading is the same lab that I've been involved in with all the allegations over in France" (click here to read full transcript)
During this time, Landis’ doctor revealed that the test on the ‘A’ sample had found a ratio of 11.1 in Landis’ blood, when the permitted ratio is only 4.1. (click here for that interview).
So much to write about, so little time.
Look us up tomorrow for Part 2 of Le Scandal Uncovered.
À demain
Melinda
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Comment by Melinda
Travel France
I'll see if I can find out that info for you. It would be interesting to see if he's partially telling the truth...