Thursday Roundup

News
Bicycling's David L'Heureux revisits the week's developments in the Landis case with a few notable quotes that may bear reiteration. From Maurice Suh and Howard Jacobs who are Landis' lawyers:

"We are concerned that LNDD is fighting for its reputation right now and that the results that came out of this would be adverse and be nothing more than an attempt to validate their initial findings," said Suh.
The most recent round of tests, seven "B" urine samples belonging to Landis, which were marked only by a number, were analyzed alongside several other anonymous samples. According to the AFP and Reuters, testers were looking for the existence of exogenous testosterone, an unnatural form of testosterone different from what normally exists in the male body.
The report in today's edition of L'Equipe said that leaked information showed the existence of the exogenous testosterone. L'Equipe also reported that Landis's representatives were on hand for the testing, but did not say to what extent those experts were or were not allowed access to the testing.
"The source of the leak could have only been the USADA or LNDD," said Landis's lawyer Howard Jacobs. "We intend to ask the arbitration panel to ask these two entities to provide affidavits under oath saying that they were not the source of the leak."
Suh added that for a leak of this nature to exist, testers would have had to know where individual samples came form to begin with, hence tainting the testing process."

The Philadelphia Inquirer blends two of last night's top Landis stories. Firstly, it cites the Bloomberg News piece in which Floyd Landis states that he may be forced to declare bankruptcy due to losses of over $10 million dollars from canceled sponsorships, lost cycling income, and moneys spent on his doping case:

"I didn't do it," Landis said yesterday in an interview with Bloomberg News. "I didn't deserve this, but I'm not just going to accept it as defeat to cut my losses."

The article also makes brief mention of the support Lance Armstrong voiced yesterday for the Landis team's criticism of the LNDD.

Pez covers development in the case, after some actual racing.

Blogs
Velo Swiss thinks that all of the recent doping scandals have taken the shine off the peloton. He mentions that many accused cyclists have come out saying they are innocent and have played the conspiracy card, but then he mentions one really interesting thing. He says there is speculation the Landis camp knew about the positive test results before they were leaked to the press.

Le Societe Des DemonCats discusses the good, bad and ugly in pro cycling at this time. Floyd Landis comes under the heading "bad" and this is due to the inequity with which the Landis observers were treated last week and Sunday of this week at the LNDD.

Proleptic Life want very badly to believe with all his heart in Floyd Landis, and is terribly concerned that the process in which Floyd finds himself is hopelessly flawed:

It now appears that the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) and the French lab which did the testing are conspiring to make sure Landis can’t clear his name.The USADA and the French lab, Chatenay-Malabry, have retested Landis remaining urine samples and have leaked word that they were also positive. The problem with that is Landis’ contention all along is that the lab in question does shoddy work and messed up the first testing. Landis wanted an independent US lab to do any further testing. That only seems to make sense and I can’t understand why, if the truth is what matters here, the USADA wouldn’t want to do the same thing. After all, if an independent lab tested and it came back positive again that would only strengthen their case against Landis. Now, since they have used the same lab there will always be a question mark over the whole process.

Adamo does NOT condone any doping, but thinks that the agencies who are in charge of keeping sports clean should be at least as clean and accountable as the athletes themselves, the standard of justice should be equal.

Daydreaming wonders why it seems it's just Americans who are being targeted by the anti-doping agencies and why they can't just let it go when a test comes out "negative"?

850 The Buzz Sports Radio's blog gives us the "Rumor and Innuendo" column, in which the Buzz wonders if the bankruptcy that Floyd Landis is contemplating is moral or financial, a real "snark of the day" contender !

The CyclingLogue find's Abt's IHT article sadly true.

[I]f the labs which conduct the tests do so in a dishonorable way, exhibiting obvious bias or anything that could be perceived as lack of neutrality, they need to be punished as well. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again - everyone involved in the doping control process must be squeaky frikkin clean or it will never be trusted. And if it’s not trusted, we will continue to have these long, drawn-out legal battles where there’s a question-mark by a winner’s name for years - instead of a situation where someone gets caught and says, “You’re right, I did it” because they know the proof is infallible.

Random Musings amid Mental Chaos wants Floyd Landis to just give it up dude. Seems like more mental chaos than musings happening here.

Random Thoughts on Sports,Work, and Life says that Floyd Landis is crying "witch hunt", again.

Theurbanhermit talks about athletes in big trouble, and thinks tainted pee is a big ol' yawn.

Philadelphia Challenge read about Floyd Landis on RoadBikeRider.com and is glad HE is not being tested for banned substances, specifically TastyKakes and Philly Cheesesteaks.

Lust for Life is rather star struck upon meeting Floyd Landis and George Hincapie at the Tour of Georgia recently, and feels sometimes like he has been in a dream. Floyd probably knows what that feels like too, except for him it's likely been a nightmare.

TheRoadBike.com is impressed that a big name like Lance Armstrong would so vehemently back Floyd Landis, and thinks that Lance's support of Floyd now, after the most recent allegations, is important.

Strider really really REALLY hates cyclists. He thinks they are killers, stalkers, unpleasant people, extremely selfish, and now due to Floyd Landis recent ills, cheaters! He should tell us how he really feels and not be so shy.


Pabaon Sports, judges that cycling fans are still split on whether Floyd Landis cheated or not in the Tour de France last summer. He feels Stage 17 might be too good to be true.

Media
MTBCast presents a mountain biking podcast about Floyd Landis and his plans to compete in the Teva Mountain Games.

Forums
Pretty much all forums, including our comments, are experiencing an influx of newbies who are asking questions old-timers have hashed and rehashed over and over. We advise good nature and patience, as this may be the first time many have been exposed to the deeper substance.

Thought for the Day

Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistent one.
-Albert Einstein-

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Wednesday Roundup

News
Bloomberg has an interview in which Landis contemplates filing for bankruptcy to deal with part of the situation. He says he lost $10 million in earnings he should have had as a result of the case, and is thinking about law suits against USADA and LNDD for damages. He also says yesterday's request for delay may already have been denied.

MSNBC and NBC Sports carry a piece stating that Lance Armstrong supports Floyd Landis and his statements that the LNDD is not to be trusted. Armstrong feels the tactic the Landis team is taking in publically stating mistrust in the lab's credibility is a good one.

The Washington Post's Sally Jenkins postulates that a "Gumby like" Floyd Landis is a bad messenger in his own defense, and he may actually be indefensible, but the errors that we know of, as well as potential LNDD errors we have no idea of at least make the labs as suspect as the athlete:

The Landis case has followed a familiar WADA pattern: a high-profile athlete's supposedly confidential test results wind up identified by name in the newspapers, sometimes prematurely. This pattern has been seen at other WADA-accredited labs, not just France's, as in the case of Marion Jones, whose initial positive test for the endurance-boosting drug EPO made the American papers, but was not confirmed by subsequent results at a California lab.

The WADA has long had a fixation on the absoluteness of a positive drug test. It insists on the infallibility of its lab work, no matter how iffy, and on the sacrosanct infallibility of its rules, no matter how harsh. There is little room in its code for the inadvertent, the accidental, or the extenuating circumstance. No matter how an athlete wound up with a banned substance in his or her system, he or she is presumed guilty. There is simply no room for the mistake.

But Landis, whatever you think of him, has jabbed his finger at a central flaw and hypocrisy in the doping system: The WADA accepts all kinds of sloppy mistakes from the Chatenay-Malabry lab that it would never accept from an athlete. Drink from the wrong bottle, take the wrong allergy remedy, make a mistake on a form or forget to show up for a drug test, and you face a two-year ban, maybe worse, regardless of the innocence of your mistake or legitimacy of your excuse.

If you work for an accredited doping lab, on the other hand, you can apparently mislabel, misplace, mishandle, and, for all we know, knock over a glass of fume blanc on the specimen, and the WADA will defend your work.

The IHT's Sam Abt regretably repeats the "seven" mistake, showing there's no stopping misinformation once it gets out. Sam thinks the scandals are better to follow than the racing this year.

ESPN.com Page 2 finds writer Tim Keown musing about the Landis "press conference" held Monday PM after newly tested urine samples at the LNDD allegedly turned up positive. Tim thinks that Landis ' delivery of a prepared statement was clumsy, that the spin doctors were at work, and the Playboy reporter embarrased himself with fawning. That was the reporter we alluded to in our report, "Striking at bait dangled by one reporter, Suh went along with the characterization of anti-doping enforcement as a witch-hunt bordering on McCarthyism." The fish is reeled in by...

The Gazette's David Ramsey wants to believe Floyd Landis, but feels a preponderance of evidence is now stacked up against that belief, and that perhaps, in today's first real snark, the dog ate Floyd's drug test. Ramsey invokes Frank Shorter, former Olympic marathoner, who laughs at Landis attorney Maurice Suh's depiction of the actions of USDA as "McCarthyism", and feels that IF someone is caught in the machinery that's part of the process of cleansing sport:

Sure, there are contradictions in this pursuit. This cleansing is messy. It’s painful to admit that towering home runs, tiny sprint times and amazing cycling feats were counterfeit.

And it appears virtually impossible for athletes to admit their guilt. Nearly all the track athletes and baseball players associated with the BALCO scandal initially proclaimed their innocence before eventually slinking into the shadows with their guilt.

In the end, the Landis saga will be all about the evidence.

Landis will have his day. His appeal is scheduled for May 14 in Malibu, Calif. He’ll face a three-person arbitration panel. He’ll be blessed with the opportunity to prove his innocence.

For some reason, Landis believes running radio ads and embarking on a national tour will help his cause.

He’s wrong, of course. The best PR campaign is useless if the facts aren’t on his side.

The problem with this logic is that due to the handling of this whole affair we may never know what those facts really are.


The San Francisco Chronicle's Gwen Knapp blogs that she is confused by the latest developments in the Landis case, and thinks that a caveat should be used in the description of his "B" samples positives, in that they may not be positive at all. She feels that unfortunately no matter what, the average sports fan will think that Floyd failed an actual drug test. Comments carry a loud "they all dope" mindset.

NBC Sports reports Armstrong is still believing Landis, and that he hasn't gotten a fair shake.

The Star Telegram takes a mishmash of yesterday's wire reports, plus the CBS Morning News interview between Landis and Harry Smith, and folds it in with a very brief summary of the case since last summer.

The Turkish Daily News posts a Reuters piece about Landis and his current struggles with USADA and includes some quotes from Monday afternoon's teleconference. No mention is made of the information disclosed in the Turkish AFP piece from late yesterday.

USAToday SportsScope picks up our head scratching on the AFP story of yesterday, and comments on Jenkins and Knapp above.

Web
The Spokesman Podcast talks about the newly tested B samples.

Blogs
Podium Cafe isn't sure if Floyd Landis is innocent, but he sure doesn't trust the LNDD's testing procedures, and to use an oft cited idiom thinks there might be "un renard" in the henhouse.

Rant wonders what kind of games the "sinister" USADA is playing, and what are they up to anyway?:

It took more than a bit of gamesmanship to hatch the rather sinister idea to create a rule that Landis’ observers could only be present if USADA’s observers were. In looking over the arbitration panel’s ruling on the B-sample testing, I don’t see any requirement of that sort, so Landis’ observers should have been allowed in on Sunday. But, as we heard on Monday, that was not the case. How convenient, then, that USADA’s observers (puppetmasters?) decided to go home before the testing was done.

What I Believe is busy these days, and she invokes the beloved "X-Files" and applies Occams Razor in her decision to believe Floyd Landis is guilty of doping or innocent and a victim of the system. She partially blames her former support of Tyler Hamilton for what she ultimately thinks, and comes to the conclusion that being "right" in the end is the most important thing so she goes with guilty.

The Dan Gerous Blogspot thinks that Floyd Landis is not fooling anybody, nor is any other dirty cyclist, and he thinks they are ALL dirty.

The Bleacher Report's Ryan Alberti gives us two possibilities concerning the reality of the Floyd Landis case, one is sad, and the other is even sadder:

There are, as I see it, two possible scenarios here. The first is that Floyd is telling the truth. And hey—maybe: Maybe the charges and evidence levied against him—up to and including these seven (!) latest positive B samples—really are the stuff of clandestine francophile conspiracy; maybe Floyd really has been targeted by an international cabal of Legionnaires and pastry chefs and snooty stinking maître-d’s, all of them united in the name of Gaul-knows-what anti-American agenda.

Maybe.

And that would be sad.

Then, of course, there’s that other possibility. You read the papers, so I’ll cut to the rub: that maybe Floyd, alas, is caught in a collapsing ruse of his own invention, and that maybe he is, in fact, nothing either more or less than a lonely lapsed Mennonite, with a bum hip and a big secret and this oh-my-God-so-awful need for someone—anyone—to come along and please just once give him the benefit of the doubt. And that, Bubba, would be infinitely sadder.

Though the sentiment of the piece is touching on some level, the author must realize that Floyd Landis DOES have a lawyer, a few as a matter of fact, and there is no actual known number of alleged positives cited by L'Equipe Monday. Well, he does now if he reads his comments.

Tour Squad fears that all cyclists, including Floyd Landis, are really up against it in a system that is rigged against them from the get go.

Human Hormone Central thinks someone slipped a "Mickey" into one of Landis' drinks during Stage 17 of last year's Tour de France, and then gives us a dead link to another news story on this week's developments. The recent test leaks ought to stick a fork in that theory.

Swap Blog thinks Landis is screwed, even if he is innocent, and he doesn't have any idea what the truth is.

What I think takes the easy way out and says the test are definitive in a piece title "Idiot Landis' Urine"

Monkey Do files his opinions on Armstrong's remarks with the tags, "another Texas asswipe" and "people who cheat and have slept with Sheryl Crow."


The Washington City Paper blog about WashPo columns covers Sally Jenkin's article referenced above. Their roundup has seems to have started on April 10th, and has an eerily familiar format and tone, maybe even (using JohnnyBaseball's word of yesterday) "trenchant."



Thought for the Day

"If science teaches us anything it teaches us to accept our failures as well as our successes with quiet dignity and grace."

-Young Frankenstein

UPDATE: Our comments are fixed. Somehow, per-post options had been changed to disallow and hide existing comments. We don't think we did this, but it might have been an accident or a Blogger error. We'll know what to do if it re-occurs: edit the post and set the options correctly to "allow".

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What the?

The AFP, via Turkish Press, rehashes L'Equipe under the headline "Landis Ultra-positive", with a body that refutes that with a few things we haven't seen anywhere before:

L'Equipe reported that varying levels of synthetic testosterone have been found in urine samples tested this week

later,

the results from the French laboratory involved in testing seven of Landis's samples revealed that "several" of those samples contained synthetic testosterone, albeit at lower levels than his original positive test.

and then finally (emphasis added):

several of Landis's samples from last year's Tour contained synthetic testosterone, albeit at levels that were not sufficient to warrant a "positive" test.

If we read this correctly, there aren't positive test results in the newly tested B samples -- only claims that there is exogenous testosterone present, which are unsupportable if they aren't positive.

If this information is true, it casts the leak and the reporting of the leak in an entirely different light.

We await clarification and confirmation.

UPDATE:

Overnight, consensus seems to be that the AFP story has confused the T/E screening tests with the IRMS CIRs, and that there are no new facts -- the tests are not known to be "Ultra positive" based on the data available, nor are they known to be indicative of exo-t but not at levels to be "positive".

This hasn't stopped the headline or the story from racing around the world, following timezones.

Sigh.


(nb: TurkishPress often runs wire stories before anyone else, possibly because of timezones).

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Tuesday Roundup

Late Breaking News
ESPN's Bonnie DeSimone reports Landis asking for delay:

Lawyers for embattled Tour de France winner Floyd Landis have requested a delay in the scheduled May 14 arbitration hearing to consider doping charges against Landis, saying they need more time to review potential new evidence against him.

Landis spokesman Michael Henson said lawyers e-mailed a request to the arbitrators late Monday night, asking them to delay their hearing by at least four weeks. It was not known when the arbitrators might decide on the request.

AFP seems to be reporting that the new B sample tests AREN'T positive, described by us above.

News
ESPN.comCycling's has an in-depth video interview with Floyd about the leaked results, and Bonnie DeSimone's lengthy accompanying article is an excellent overview.

LA Times Michael Hiltzik got his piece in last night, but we had editing problems so put it off for today. It's a fair piece covering all the ground; Rerun in the SF Chronicle.

The New York Times' Juliet Macur summarizes yesterday's leaked "B" samples results reported by L'Equipe. She cites that Don Catlin, formerly of the USADA lab at UCLA, maintains that when the initial testing was done on the "A" portion of these samples last summer during the Tour de France there was nothing to trigger any need for further testing thus they were deemed negative. She also quotes Lance Armstrong who observes there is bad blood on both sides of this dispute:

“I have never been supportive of that lab,” Armstrong said yesterday in a telephone interview. “If you can’t maintain a level of confidentiality around the stuff that is truly a serious issue, then the lab needs to not be a certified lab.”

“But I think it’s become very personal for both sides there,” he said. “They’ve been very outspoken, and Floyd’s been very outspoken. There’s some bad blood between the two.”

The poorly written lead gives the suggestion that "traces" were found in all seven samples. As we know, the original report said "several", and the term "traces" is nonsensical given the reality of the test. The error suggesting all seven may be positive is repeated later. This error, here and in other stories, is likely to haunt Landis for months. (Thanks to Pommi for noticing.)

The San Jose Mercury News' Elliott Almond reviews yesterday's events in the Landis case, and feels that, if true, the further finding of exogenous testosterone in samples other than the previously found one positive test from last summer, may provide a better doping profile and explanation of use from Landis .

CBS News says Landis gave an interview to Harry Smith this morning, and extends the AP story:

Because the French lab leaked the story, Landis said he is basically indicted before the evidence is confirmed. He said officials at France's national anti-doping laboratory told him that he would be allowed to have an independent expert to observe the testing. But on Sunday, Landis's expert, a former director of the UCLA lab, was prevented from witnessing the testing. Landis said that is part of the plot against him.

"They like to win," he said about the French lab. "They like to make a point as if they're always right. They'll go out of their way. They'll break all their own rules in order to do that … At this point, they have taken position they want to win regardless of the truth."

The Toronto Sun, among many on lines publications this AM, posts Eddie Pells AP summary of yesterday's events with emphasis on the Landis team's refusal to confirm the leaked results of the "B" sample testing done at the LNDD , and the subsequent denial of Piere Bordry of the AFLD to confirm that he even knows the alleged results cited in the L'Equipe story of yesterday.

FoxSports has an audio file of yesterday's teleconference with Floyd Landis's prepared statements. The write up done is fair and balanced with a litany of Team Landis complaints included.

AlJazeera.net Sport gets into the act and takes a view that seems in Floyd Landis' favor. Expect headlines from some outlets saying Landis is supported by terrorists. For the pool, I'll take L'Equipe.


The Daily Telegraph (Aus) latches onto Landis' mention of Thorpe in their second paragraph. There's always a local angle.

The Daily Vidette, of Indiana State Univ, headlines "Admitting a mistake is the first step to forgiveness"

So here's what guys like Landis and McGwire should do - just admit it if they're guilty. They'll be treated a lot better shortly thereafter.

But sadly, if either of those two are innocent, they're probably screwed. Thanks, Raffy Palmeiro.

What about USADA and LNDD?

Temple (Univ) News compares PED use to students taking uppers and military "go-pills".

Blogs
Our Word and Welcome to It provides a satirically archeological look at a fantasy America of the future in which Barry Bonds and Floyd Landis are memorialized as heroes:

“As is the case with so many great finds, the discovery of the Bonds-Landis civilization was purely accidental,” Leibowitz said with his characteristic modesty. “While rummaging through what we assumed was some type of storeroom, we came across several small vials containing an amber liquid. Subsequent analysis showed that they were samples of body fluids which had been carefully preserved for at least two centuries. Many of these vials were unlabeled, but we found two with faded writing that our cryptologists were able to decipher: B. Bonds and F. Landis. At first we didn’t know what we had, but even then it was clear we’d stumbled onto something of great significance.

Almost six years of continuous research followed, allowing archaeologists to fill in some of the blanks surrounding the lives of Bonds and Landis, and while many aspects of their lives remain unknown, Leibowitz says one thing is for certain.

“These two men were widely admired and respected. There can be no doubt of this. For a civilization to preserve these mementos and enshrine them as relics speaks volumes to the regard in which they were held.

The historical evidence for Landis’ greatness is more obscure, Leibowitz said. “The mentions of ‘Floyd Landis’ appear to be confined to a relatively brief period, perhaps no longer than a year or two.” Fellow historians speculate that Landis may have been a boy king who died at an early age, or perhaps a martyr for the faith. “The existence of the ‘Landis’ specimen is clearly proof of his importance to this society.”

La Flamme Rouge, a French blog we've seen in the past, is frustrated beyond belief by cycling, and of course buys the L'Equipe line.

Steroid Nation, which has offered support against the unfair process in the past, is growing tired of how long this is taking to resolve.

JohnnyBaseball, rare among the stick-and-ball blogs, actually looks at the developments, citing Rant and describing us as "trenchant."

According to the French bastion of journalism ethics, L’Equipe, Landis’s failed drug test from last summer’s Tour de France revealed a synthetic steroid. The paper knows this because it ran the leaked results that may or may not be true.

More Mind Food is "colorful" in his description of the current situation Floyd Landis finds himself in concerning the Tour de France and the resulting testing mess.

MIS Blog SPR 2007 muses that the only time that cycling gets any press is when it is accused of cheating, of course MIS also thinks that Floyd Landis was stripped of his Tour de France title a month after the end of the tour, which is also incorrect. Misinformation simply abounds!

The Angry Fan thinks that something definitely stinks in the latest Landis positive doping results, and that The Crucible may be reoccurring. .

PullYouDownNow surmises that cycling is as popular as curling now due to Floyd Landis, but heck I LOVE curling!!

SomeSportsStuff mistakenly thinks that Floyd Landis hates the French. What Floyd hates is injustice, particularly when he's carrying the brunt.

Spokes and Beans seems to believe everything he reads in L'Equipe.

Sweet Home Algomaha has nothing in him but Doritos, and still he thinks that Floyd Landis is getting hosed.

Rant provides a cogent summary of the facts of yesterday's firestorm, and concludes it is impossible for an athlete to get a fair hearing in the current environment.

Bannoj likes the Hiltzik piece, and has some thoughts about what's going on at the lab.

Dugard devotes his whole column to L'Affaire, and doesn't like what he sees in USADA and LNDD's collusion.

Blog Cycling News does not pretend to know if Floyd Landis is guilty or innocent, but he feels that Floyd may be a scapegoat in the doping process, and even though cycling faces a tough road ahead:

When all is said and done in the Floyd Landis case I think that it will become clear that he has been misused by the system to make a point about doping. In my mind this case has become less about Floyd's possible transgressions and more about a the flawed organizations of theUCI and WADA. How can riders believe that they are being treated fairly when the UCI and WADA leak confidential information, state opinions as facts, trust laboratories that do not follow protocols and leak confidential information, and leak confidential information themselves.

CyclingFan4Life is completely confused in posting that the lab doing the "B" sample testing was a different one from last summer's which produced the initial positives putting this whole thing into motion.

Yardbarker can't believe that the science can be so wrong so many times, and even though he had started to think Floyd Landis was being honest, he now wants Landis to stop lying.

The Pickoff says that Floyd Landis is in the news again, and that nobody cares.

The Nightfly thinks

Floyd should have called Barry B or Victor Conte and asked, "Can you hook me up?"

The Screamin Chinaman rightly uses "allegedly" a lot, and painfully concludes:

[T]he whole thing just stinks. it's like Floyd is standing on his soap box screaming "the aliens have landed in roswell, the aliens have landed in roswell!" and the US ADA and that french lab are saying back "no sir that was a weather balloon, no spaceships here in roswell, just an old weather balloon." either way the louder they shout the less anyone believes them. i mean, i don't believe aliens landed in roswell, but i don't think it was a weather balloon either.
so lets all raise a glass and toast the french lab and the US ADA, they made sure that even if they don't win, those who love the sport of cycling will lose!

SQW Racing runs Landis' press release of yesterday, hoping to get it more exposure.

Run run run Cycle too thinks Floyd can't catch a break.

Pommi has the promotional poster for the hearing:




JoeSchmoe says the lab has hosed Landis again, with USADA's complicity.

RTIROnline talks about the Landis news as a reason to book Dave Shields onto your TV or Radio show.

Erratica takes the simple line, that Landis is lying.

Maribo stretches a metaphor...

PARIS (Unassociated Press) - The climate’s second doping sample contained elevated levels of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases, scientists at a French doping lab confirmed on Friday.

Pierre Martin, who chairs the French anti-doping board, said that the lab discovered the carbon dioxide in the climate’s B sample had to have come from an outside source. The doping tests were ordered after the climate produced one of the warmest years in recorded history.

Postmen thinks Landis should just give it up. And it was Sarah's fault.

Le Blog des Sports (Swiss) says (machine translated):

Floyd Landis doped itself to gain the Turn of France 2006. Celà hardly any more makes of doubt after the revelations of the newspaper” the Team “of this April 24 and the comments prestigious and recognized specialists like Martial Saugy, the director of the laboratory anti-doping of Lausanne. And yet, in spite of the evidence of the last analyses, the American cyclist is inserted in the lie! Its defense does not change: It denies to have had recourse to illegal substances. It also blames the veracity of the complements of analyses and especially tries to benefit from the gaps in the law to pass between the meshs of the net. Remain the obviousness: Landis cheated, it does not deserve its title of winner of the Turn of France, must bail out of a 2 year old suspension. The mascarde lasted enough!!

Lou3000 repeats the "All" fallacy, and proceeds from there.

SupernewsBroadcast runs a blurb, but more critically, uses an illustration from the same stock agency that feeds Rant.

Suitcase of Courage calls L'Affaire "another blunder in the Floyd Landis investigation".

Run The Race thinks we have "clear and irrefutable proof" the anti-doping system is broken.

That's This World Over buys the leaked line, and says, "The make-up test was a failure."

Holly Aurora's entire contribution to the public debate is, "Floyd Landis sucks!". Thanks for sharing.

More Mind Food thinks it's all over, and he's giving up on the tour.

Forums
Robust debate continues at DPF. Rational Head notes that Paul Scott is no longer listed on the ACE website as an officer. Reasonable speculation would be that this is to address any conflict of interest concerns with his acting as an expert for Landis.

At soccerfans.de, no translation necessary:

Mehr Sport - Sport - FAZ.NET - Nachtrag zur Tour de France: Sieben B-Proben von Landis positiv

Ulle, Landis und noch viele andere. Der Sport ist kaputt.

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History Repeating

We've seen this before. A damaging leak comes out in a way that is likely to affect the opinion of casual observers who will never dig deeper; a lack of specifics, and claims of infallibility.

USADA could not have asked for better spin production the way things became orchestrated with these alternate B sample tests.

[MORE]


The least non-credible reports say that "several" of the other samples had indications of "traces" of exogenous testosterone. Look at that carefully. "Several" is not "all" or even "most". We don't know which samples were deemed "positive", and which were not -- but apparently, some were non-positive, or the L'Equipe story certainly would have said so clearly. Using the term "traces" is non-sensical in the context of the tests, which is comparing carbon isotope rations of metabolites (break down products). The "traces" are there whether or not there was exogenous testosterone present.

One of the debate topics in this case has been what constitutes a "positive" on this test. As done by LNDD, there are four metabolites tested, and we do not know what actual criteria are used. In the reported Stage 17 tests, two of the four tests appeared to be over a level that is the subject of a dispute. One was so strongly skewed that Landis asserted there was an obvious process error, while others says that one is a strong indication of guilt. Landis claims all four should be positive to declare an adverse finding; other say only one is sufficient and makes the case.

We don't have any idea what the values for the new positive tests have been. To us, it seems most likely that they are not slam-dunk values, or those would have been leaked at the same time. That leaves us with results that may repeat the uncertainty of the original test, with no useful resolution.

What we may have learned is that the LNDD can reproduce results, which tells us nothing about their correctness, which was one of the points of dispute. The inability of Landis' experts to see the details of the analysis should ring alarm bells; Equally troubling is why USADA had experts and attorneys on the "other side of the line" at the lab. When the S17 B sample was done, all observers were on the "outside"

Piling on, the reports also say that this is a "different" test than those run before, when they are the exact same tests that were run on the Stage 17 samples. This is done in a weasely way that lets the report claim literal accuracy, while connoting a lie. True, the IRMS/CIR wasn't run on these samples before -- but it is not a new, different test, it's the same one previously declared to be "infallible."

We think the leak is a perfidious example of bully boys doing in the back alley what they can't do in the light of day.

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Summary of the Day

With much Sturm und Drang, forums, comments and email have exploded today. Here's the one that I think sums it up the best:

If Floyd doped and the A and B tests were true, the new B samples support that.

If Floyd didnt dope and the tests were off in the first place, the tests are still off and internally consistent.
Read Bicycling Magazine for a nice synopsis.

If Floyd didnt dope and the tests were manipulated, there were manipulated again. No surprise.

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Landis Comments from Phone Press Conference

As passed on by Henson:

I want to begin by saying that I won the Tour Fair and Square.

Although I'm disappointed by yet another breach of athlete confidentiality,
[MORE]
I'm not surprised to hear of a leak of unsubstantiated test results to
L'Equipe. This is just another example of the anti-doping authorities acting
in complete and total disregard of athletes' rights. In fact, this leak
affirms the total lack of ethics within the ant-doping world, specifically
with regard to the LNDD and USADA. Much like the recent Ian Thorpe case,
this represents a massive failure on the part of WADA to manage the critical
fight against doping. In any other industry or field, their failures would
be construed as criminal negligence.

We have seen no scientifically valid data emerge from the LNDD. The reports
from our observers ­ when they were'¹t severely restricted by USADA and the
LNDD ­ strengthens our arguments against the Stage 17 testing. Moreover, new
egregious issues have been revealed that will come to light in due course.

Considering the history of gross negligence and scientific malfeasance at
the lab, it is amazing to me that the behavior of USADA and LNDD in
preventing our expert witnesses from attending this illegal re-testing ­
and commencing the retesting without an independent panel appointed expert
present ­ could be considered fair or unbiased. Based on this behavior, we
are looking at potentially deliberate falsification of results and the
willful destruction of evidence.

As before, I have again been thrust into a position where I must answer for
the specious results issued by lab that we have contended for months should
have been suspended by WADA. I invite the media to ask Mr. Bordry of the
AFLD if any of the issues in the lab that we have pointed out over the past
nine months have been addressed or corrected. I would suspect that the
answer is "no."

Per Pat McQuaid, and relative to the case of testing Lance Armstrong's "B"
samples from the 1999 Tour de France, the UCI defended Armstrong¹s position
against the LNDD and WADA due to the complete lack of safeguards in the
testing process. Now, based on reactions to the latest developments in my
case, we will know if this represents a UCI cover up at the highest level or
a search for truth.


end of statement from Landis.

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More French Press

Correspondent Marc sends the following bits of coverage in France.

Sport24's follow-up:

[MORE]

5:42 p.m. Cycling
Landis: "A Parody of Justice"



After new analyses--whose results were leaked this Monday--revealed the presence of synthetic testosterone in his urine, Floyd Landis reacted strongly in his defense

"This is the latest in a series of malevolent actions by the USADA, which have undermined my right to having my case treated in a equitable and just manner. . . . I am torn up by the behavior of the USADA and the LNDD. Together, they have transformed this process into an attack on my civil rights and a parody of justice," Floyd Landis stated in a press release published on his official site.

This site, at least, seems to be giving FL a shot at a pretty unbiassed defense. Oops. I spoke too soon. Sport24 has a new, longer, snarky article:

[A photo of FL was captioned: The vise is closing on Floyd Landis]

Landis caught in the trap

According to l'Equipe, the retroactive analyses of seven Floyd Landis specimens clearly show the presence of exogenous testosterone. The American is facing a two-year suspension.

By Florian Egly

Crushing results

This time, Floyd Landis will not be able to hide behind a supposed exceptionally elevated natural testosterone production, nor steal away by denouncing the supposed incompetence of the laboratory at Châtenay-Malabry (LNDD). These two lines of defense put forward by the American racer since his positive test result during the Tour de France have fallen flat. According to a report in l'Equipe, seven specimens belonging to the former Yellow Jersey and preserved since the 2006 Grande Booucle have revealed the presence of exogenous testosterone, during retroactive analyses performed this last week by the LNDD. The new tests--based on the more reliable new IRMS technique (which can distinguish the level of endogenous testosterone from that due to external sources)--had been requested by the USADA, which is in charge of the Landis case. Two experts from the agency, along with two of the rider’s representatives, witnessed these analyses, which thus rebuts the argument of any so-called manipulation on the part of the French laboratory.

No surprise

This is no big surprise. The revelations only confirm the American’s positive test the evening of his “fantastic” gallop to Morzine, July 20, which itself had been confirmed after analysis of that test's B sample several weeks later. Up until now, though, Landis had been able to get out of it by several maneuvres, using every recourse available, and benefiting especially from two procedural blunders by the lab at Châtenay-Malabry: a labeling error in the summary of the confirming test, and the presence of two technicians on the testing of both the A and B samples, which is prohibited by rule. Summoned by the AFLD last February, the former Phonak leader negociated a postponement by accepting not to be at the start of the 2007 Tour de France. This allowed him to confront the USADA, which he considered more competent, first. Before meeting with Floyd Landis on next May 14, the USADA took the unprecedented step at the end of March of requiring retroactive analyses of the specimens which had tested negative at the time they were taken, the method of analysis used not being as precise. It is these specimens that indeed seem to be
positive for testosterone.

Landis cries foul

Obviously, the man who is today still the winner of the 2006 Tour de France did not waste time before reacting, once again denouncing a conspiracy. The American notably reproaches the USADA for having denied one of his consultants access to the LNDD. "How can I prove my innocence when the UDADA won’t stop violating its own rules? I am torn up by the behavior of the USADA and the LNDD. Together, they have transformed this process into an attack on my civil rights and a parody of justice," he asserts in a press release published on his internet site. The ball is now in the USADA’s court, the only agency authorized to sanction Floyd Landis. Summoned by the USADA for May 14, he risks a suspension of two years and could be the first winner in the history of the Tour de France to be stripped of his title.

The Belgian online newspaper "7 Sur 7" mainly goes with the l'Equipe story, but adds these two paragraphs:

Not identifiable

Pierre Bordry, president of the AFLD, confirmed that the analyses (begun April 16 art the LNDD at Châtenay-Malabry, near Paris) were completed, but that their result was not known. The cyclist’s seven specimens--marked only with a number as is the custom--were analyzed at the same time as other anonymous specimens, and were therefore not identifiable, M. Bordry explained. (His agency must now transmit its report to the USADA.) According to the internet site of the French sports newspaper [l'Equipe], the analyses revealed on several occasions the presence of exogenous testosterone in the B samples.

Incompetence

The USADA, mired in an interminable process with Landis (who tested positive for testosterone at the 17th stage of the 2006 Tour de France, which he won), took an unprecedented step at the end of March: to have tested retrospectively, by mass spectometry (IRMS), specimens whose A samples were negative for the T/E ratio, using a less precise method. Landis, who has based his defense on the presumed incompetence of LNDD, was represented by two witnesses at the tests at Châtenay-Malabry this week, just as the USADA was, which sent two experts. The winner--so far--of the 2006 Tour de France is summoned by the USADA for May 14. He risks a two-year suspension.

Le Monde picked up L'Equipe; Figaro picked up Sport24 long article.

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Landis Press Conference

At 1:00 ET, Landis gave a phone press conference, and we listened in.

[MORE]

Landis' hasn't gotten any official results, and hopes to get them in a few days. As noted in the earlier press release, they complained that USADA ran the analytical process, with their expert and attorney "over the line", while Landis' expers Scott and Davis were kept on the other side. They said that they were denied visibility into the critical parts of the analysis.

They also explained the lockout: USADA's experts went home, and left instructions that if there was no USADA expert, there could be no Landis experts. Landis claims the refusal of entry had nothing to do with behavior by their experts.

The samples were tested serially, in batches of two, and that Landis' experts had heard of "top line" positive results during the week. They feel these conclusions are premature without seeing the supporting data they were not allowed to see, which many of us have learned are critical to the accuracy of the result.

Landis believes the leak could only have come from LNDD or USADA, an issue they expect to take up with the arbiters this week.

At the conclusion of the prepared remarks, Floyd gave a blistering attack, saying that he won the Tour fair and square; that is disappointed but not surprised by the leaked results, which show that what few rights athletes have are routinely ignored, reflecting a lack of ethics by the agencies. He thinks what happened at the LNDD borders on deliberate falsification and destruction of evidence.

During the Q and A, they suggested they might appreciate a delay in the hearing date, and are contemplating recourse to Civil Court.

Suh suggested that the process at the LNDD should result in non-admission of the new results.

Striking at bait dangled by one reporter, Suh went along with the characterization of anti-doping enforcement as a witch-hunt bordering on McCarthyism.

All told, it was about what one could have expected -- not much hard data was presented, and some of the questions seemed clue-challenged. It is very difficult for the Attorneys to get across how they feel about the system. Suh repeated himself several times, saying this is "very troubling." Another reporter wanted to know why Landis' experts could just stop things when they were denied access, and had to be told the tests were happening no matter what Landis' did.

In the meantime, the biased reporting of L'Equipe, taking the leak with no balance, races around the world.

(Rant has a more detailed report.)

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Pressure doesn't build character, it reveals it

FFF press release at 5:51 PT, also at FloydLandis.com.

USADA ORDERS LNDD TO DENY FLOYD LANDIS’ OBSERVER ACCESS TO “B” SAMPLE RETESTING

Retesting Conducted Without Independent Observer Oversight

New York / Paris, April 23, 2007 – Under the order of the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) Paul Scott, expert consultant to 2006 Tour de France champion Floyd Landis and observer at the illegal retesting of Landis’ already cleared Tour de France samples, was yesterday denied entry to the Laboratoire National de Dépistage du Dopage (LNDD) at Chatenay-Malabry. As such, the analysis of two samples was conducted without a Landis representative as witness. Such behavior constitutes a clear and direct infringement of Landis’ rights while casting severe doubt on the integrity of an already dubious process.

This latest incident comes on the heels of a week in which Landis’ observers have been repeatedly and improperly restricted from accessing key phases of data processing and analysis while USADA’s expert and lawyer were able to have free lab access and directed the retesting process of LNDD.

[MORE]



Per the pre-arbitration process, there was to be an independent expert appointed by the arbitration panel whose role was to determine if the testing methodologies are flawed and to provide an additional degree of protection for Landis. USADA knowingly directed that the testing begin April 16 despite the fact that no such expert had been named.

According to Scott, LNDD lab director Jacques de Ceaurriz did not allow him to enter the facility Sunday morning. Ceaurriz cited direct orders from USADA to prohibit any further observation of the ongoing retesting.

During the analysis, USADA observers regularly provided specific direction to the LNDD, over-ruling the Landis observers’ objections and conferring with LNDD staff in private during sample processing. Landis and his team find this behavior to be particularly troubling as these deliberate actions confirm their position that the samples have been subject to mishandling, further malfeasance and potential results falsification.

Scott, former director of client services at the UCLA Olympic Laboratory, left UCLA last October and shortly thereafter was added as a consultant to the Landis defense team. Early on, Scott cited the poor handling of Landis’ Stage 17 sample as the primary example of the deep problems in scientific method and fact finding in this case. Scott said, “In my years at the UCLA lab, I’ve never seen anything like what I experienced at the LNDD yesterday. The limitation placed on me and Simon [Davis – an Isotope Ratio Mass Spectometry expert also selected by Landis to observe the retesting] demonstrates the lack of objectivity in this process, USADA’s interest in controlling and limiting our observation of the retesting is an example of one of the most egregious problems in the fundamental science of anti-doping that I have experienced.“

Given the indisputable conflicts and documented incompetence at the LNDD, testing Landis’ “B” samples there without witness or Panel appointed independent expert highlights USADA’s out-of-control prosecution. The outrageous and improper limitations placed on Landis’ observers reinforce the injustice inherent to this entire process. This is particularly evident in the case of this unprecedented retesting, where both USADA and the LNDD have a vested interest in colluding to corroborate the flawed results of Landis’ Stage 17 sample.

Scott added, ““Good science does not fear being an open book. Any science that is not neutral and objective is not science at all. Labs acting under the direction of prosecuting Anti-Doping Organizations (ADOs) are, by definition, not independent. As service providers hired by ADOs, they have a vested interest in the results desired by their client. In this case, the client is USADA and the lab is the LNDD. From what I have witnessed so far, I have significant concerns that their analysis will render results that are scientifically invalid.”

By exhausting sample material during the retesting without providing the checks and balances necessary to protect the interests of the athlete, USADA has willfully destroyed evidence that can be used to independently verify whatever results come out of the conflicted LNDD facility.

“This is yet another in a series of malicious actions by USADA that tramples my right to have my case heard in fair and just way,” said Landis. “How can I be expected to prove my innocence while USADA endeavors to break their own rules at every turn? I’m infuriated by the behavior of USADA and the LNDD. Together, they have turned this proceeding into a full-scale attack on my civil rights and a mockery of justice.”

end of press release.

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Monday Roundup

BREAKING NEWS

USADA has ordered LNDD to deny access to Landis's observers to the B sample retesting. The observers have been identified as Paul Scott, the COO of ACE, and until October, the Director of Clients at the UCLA Lab, and Simon Davis, at some point Technical Director of Mass Spec Solutions.

L'Equipe via Reuters carries a leak that says some samples tested positive for exogenous Testosterone.

L'Equipe story, translated by Marc:

Doping: Landis overwhelmed
by Damien Ressiot

To L'Equipe: Supplementary analyses just completed on seven Floyd Landis specimens taken during the 2006 TdF and originally classified as negative, have on several occasions made it possible to reveal clearly traces of synthetic testosterone. The American rider, winner of the Grande Boucle but officially testing positive for a first time at the conclusion of the race (also for synthetc testosterone), must appear before an ADA panel this coming May 14 and risks a two year suspension.

After initally opposing the principle of retroactive analyses, Landis, confronted with these new crushing results from the laboratory at Châtenay-Malabry (LNDD), is now going to have to readjust his defense strategy as quickly as possible. For these new positive specimens--revealed by means of the IRMS technique--which distinguishes the origin of any testosterone detected as natural or synthetic)--will support the current accusation made by the USADA (and the UCI). Moreover, Floyd Landis, who has for several months been making an effort to discredit the French laboratory, will have a great deal of trouble using that argument this time: the latest analyses, performed during this past week and completed this weekend, were carried out in the presence of two experts named by the rider and two representatives of the USADA.

CNN International also prints the Reuters story on new positives being found in the Landis "B" samples testing done at LNDD. They erroneously report that Landis representatives were present during testing. The Reuters report has been picked up by numerous media outlets.

The Glenwood Springs Post Independent , among other outlets, picks up the AP version of today's breaking Landis news. In this version notice is made of the lack of official confirmation of the results, and the fact that Landis observers were not present at all yesterday, and were excluded from the testing on other occasions last week.

Later there was a phone-call press conference by Landis; we have coverage, as does Rant.

BikeBiz headline is Former UCLA boss cries foul in Landis case, referring to Paul Scott, not Catlin.

ABC Sports print an AFP piece with the quotes from Maurice Suh, one of Landis' lawyers, that likens the LNDD doing the further testing on Landis' samples to the fox guarding the henhouse.



ESPN's Bonnie DeSimone reports on today's Landis developments leaked from L'Equipe:

The most recent skirmish over potential evidence in the case broke out Monday when the French daily sports newspaper L'Equipe reported -- citing no specific source -- that tests of Landis' "B" or backup samples at the Laboratoire National de Depistage du Dopage (LNDD) outside Paris showed exogenous testosterone, or a form of the hormone not naturally produced by the body.

Numerous athletes' test results have been leaked to L'Equipe over the past several years. This leak of Landis' purported results comes just three weeks after the World Anti-Doping Agency deplored the same newspaper's report that there were hormonal irregularities in year-old samples given by quintuple Olympic swimming champion Ian Thorpe of Australia. Thorpe's results were not considered an official positive.

She also quotes Howard Jacobs, one of the Landis defense attorneys, who states that USADA has abandoned all pretenses of conducting the Landis investigation fairly:

Jacobs, who has represented many prominent athletes charged with doping violations, said USADA has abandoned any pretense of pursuing Landis' case in a responsible manner because of the cyclist's aggressive public defense. Landis posted many documents related to his case on the Internet and has been barnstorming the country raising money to cover his legal costs, which have exceeded $1 million.

The agency's stance boils down to, "If you fight, we will go after you," Jacobs said. "It's the attitude of a system that has historically used high-profile cases to increase their budget. … They assume the role of prosecutor without assuming the ethical obligations of prosecutors, such as revealing exculpatory evidence."

The Independent's Alastair Fotheringham reports on the disputed tests performed last week and leaked today from the LNDD by French daily L'Equipe. He also states that the Landis camp feels the exclusion of their observers to all of the process to be a mockery of justice.

News

The Rome Georgia Tribune's Trey Smith was "scooter trash" for the week of the Tour of Georgia, and had bagels with Floyd Landis yesterday morning before ferrying VIPs and photogs around Atlanta for the final stage of the race.

The Chattanooga Times Free Press summarizes the final stage of the Tour of Gerogia, and mentions briefly that Floyd Landis and Lance Armstrong, both former winners, were in attendance in Atlanta for the end of the race.

Blogs

Racejunkie thinks that Floyd Landis has been target practice, and if they're gonna hit him do it fairly:

Well, according to Landis' exasperated team, in addition to giving the lions a second chance to down the prey they humiliatingly--and publicly--missed the first time, the lab utterly denied Landis due process this time around, too, by failing to allow, as required by the rules, one of Landis' own experts to observe the proceedings. Nice work reaching your foregone conclusion, you apes!

Look, as a lawyer, I have decidedly mixed feelings about those rare instances where due process concerns trump actual facts. But what's incredibly clear in this case is that none of these idiots should be allowed to judge a kindergarten schoolyard dispute over the rightful ownership of a spit-covered lollipop, much less a complex scientific determination as to whether someone's hard-earned career oughta be blown to bits. Destroy him fairly and honestly--fine, them's the breaks for Floyd, justice is served. But if you can't, suck up the pain of your unjustified suspicions and acknowledge either that he's really not guilty, or you haven't the competence to prove that he is.

Fredisms thinks that believing Floyd Landis is now a bit of a stretch.

Heakthbolt laments the results leaked today about the Landis "B:" samples tested at the LNDD, but feels the righteous indignation of Team Landis may be justified.

Wired Science's Michael Calore posts a thoughtful piece on today's developments, with the concerns that this bodes ill for all cyclists, and athletes for that matter, when protocols can be so trampled by the anti-doping agencies:

The decision to retroactively test Landis' "B" samples is trouble for both retired cyclists and those currently racing. Under this new precident, nobody is safe from their own past.

If the powers that be call for it, any riders' "B" sample can be trotted out and tested retroactively. Several racers and team support personnel active in the mid-1990s (such as Willy Voet and Laurent Roux) have broken cycling's unspoken rule of omerta, spilling the beans on who took what during which races and who injected them with it.

Biking Bis summarizes a very long day for Team Landis.


Rant is mystified at the exclusion of the Landis representatives at LNDD for the further testing of Landis samples last week. He is convinced that the positive results listed above from the leak to L'Equipe have been cooked up:

With the barring of Landis’ observers from LNDD, the testing process at LNDD is now clearly revealed for what it truly is: a sham, cooked up to create the kind of evidence that USADA wants so that they can achieve the result they want — which is to find Floyd Landis guilty.

Given that neither the arbitration panel nor Landis is now represented at the testing facility, I can’t imagine how the arbitrators can allow any of the cooked-up “evidence” this testing will produce to be admitted at the time of the hearing. If it wasn’t clear before, USADA’s desire to win at all costs — including by breaking the rules and the rulings of the arbitrators — is on display for all to see.

If this were a true judicial proceeding, wouldn’t USADA’s lawyers be facing sanctions right now? Or a contempt citation? This development highlights just why the current adjudication process needs to be changed. As a quasi-judicial body, USADA should be held to judicial rules. They clearly feel bound by nothing in their quest to crucify Floyd Landis.

He also wrote his Senator before the quiet turned into the storm. Rant went on to cover today's Landis teleconference with more insights into some of the questions asked.


JavaDog Sports thinks that IF you still care about cycling in the wake of today's Landis revelations you might as well kick yourself in the...well you get the picture.

I am Spy wonders if "Blue" Floyd Landis' career will be forever shrouded in the fog of conspiracy?

The Donkey Carnival thinks that whole Landis doping deal is a bore, the sandwiches he eats every day are more interesting .

Steroid Nation reports what L'Equipe , through translation , wrote as well as the BBC's report of today's events.

SQW Racing posts Michael Henson's press release from this AM and thinks that it's important for people to read it even though it's obviously not on the scale of world peace.

Bikefitter says "game over" for Floyd Landis. It may actually be just beginning.

20Million Minutes is upset about the lockout, as is Unconqerable Gladness.

Dugard says,

Things, however, aren't looking so good for Floyd Landis. Once again, laboratory results of his drug tests were leaked to L'Equipe, the French sports daily whose parent company also owns the Tour de France. And once again, the results are bad for Floyd. Traces of synthetic testosterone are now showing up in his urine. Not good. Not fair, either, that there are no comparison samples to test these against. Floyd is pretty much screwed. He's being railroaded procedurally. It's obvious that the Tour wants him gone, and that USADA and WADA and the French lab are violating protocol left and right in their haste to depose Landis as Tour champ. On the other hand, if there really was synthetic testosterone in Floyd's system, then he must ultimately explain how it got there.

UltraRob says that his doctor says that "on again off again" Lance Armstrong may yet race against Floyd Landis in the Leadville 100 this summer.

Beautiful Mind says recent findings by LNDD don't bode well for Floyd Landis.

Smithers is movin' on now that some of the "B" samples have allegedly tested positive for exogenous testosterone.

Get Outdoors say he's a doper, still.

Bicycle.net invokes Jerry Lewis.

VeloGal lights into the agencies:

[O]nce again, L'Creep's hired hands in the Cesspool have leaked the "news" that Landis' B Samples show synthetic testosterone. Once again, confidentiality is breached, more like raped, and the results leaked. And Pierre Bordry, president of the French anti-doping agency, pretends that he doesn't know what the results are. Please, does he think we are all idiots?

And does USADA think we are all idiots that we can't figure out real quick-like that if somehow the two USADA agents didn't show up for the testing that Paul Scott wouldn't be allowed in? Yes, that was the agreement, that Scott and two USADA agents would observe the B sample testing. So, Oh Gee, What A Surprise... The two USADA henchmen somehow just didn't show up, and the LNDD very smugly refused to allow the Landis expert to observe and witness the "testing"...

My God, what flagrant misconduct that these Anti-Doping Agencies are shoving down our throats. What a total abuse of power and arrogant flicking off the entire cycling world. This is truly the Dark Day in the cycling world, not last July, but today.

Uphill and Downhill says there would be no truck drivers if WADA ran testing for the transportation industry, in a post titled French Railroad Coming Through.

Spinopsys, longtime critic, says,

So, we’re back where we started and the facts haven’t really changed, the ratio was unusual and the synthetic testosterone still exists. That still has to be adequately explained by the defense. We shall see on the day of the hearing. But ultimately, furphys about process and athlete confidentiality aside, this is looking like a slam dunk

Pabaon Sports says Landis is a cheating hero, who nobody believes anymore.

Emaxhealth, runs the Landis press release uncredited; looks like a spam blog.

Karen's PR Blog thinks he's guilty and that the revelations have impacted his athletic reputation in a very negative way. Thanks for sharing.

Thought for the Day

If one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with success unexpected in common hours.

-henry david thoreau-

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Sunday Roundup

News
MSNBC and many other on line publications, picks up an AP piece about the Landis struggle against the PED use allegations and the possible two year ban that would await him if the upcoming May hearings with USADA go against him. Charles Odum writes from Stone Mountain,GA yesterday, a very busy day for Landis , that the former champion of the Tour of Georgia would rather be defending his title than be a spectator at the race:

"Obviously it wouldn't have been my choice,'' Landis said of his new role as spectator. "I was glad I was there regardless.''

Landis' troubles began soon after his Tour de France victory last year. His "B'' urine sample from his 17th-stage win in France was found to contain elevated testosterone to epitestosterone levels.

If the doping allegations are upheld, the 31-year-old Landis will be banned for two years and stripped of the Tour de France title. He agreed to sit out this year while contesting the charge.

On May 14, Landis will appear at an arbitration hearing in California where he again will deny doping allegations.
Landis said if he loses the arbitration hearing in May and has to serve the two-year suspension, he probably will never again compete in a major race.

"In the event that I lose, I can't say that I have much desire to serve a suspension and then race again later,'' he said. "We'll see.''

Asked to comment on last week's proclamation by Tour de France director Christian Prudhomme that OP tainted riders would be excluded from this year's Tour, Landis said:

"I'm certainly not naive enough to think I'm the only guy who is going through something that's not fair,'' Landis said. "I have no idea what their rationale is behind that other than they want it to look like they're doing something.

"Again I don't know who did what there. Clearly something happened. It's unfortunate no matter what happens next because it's unlikely we'll ever find out what really happened.''

And when asked what he hopes to accomplish with all of his recent appearances Landis replied:

"We want people to see than an innocent athlete couldn't possibly defend himself. Whatever they think of me, they have to look at the system and agree with that.''

WMGT-TV (NBC) covers the same ground as the article above but in truncated fashion.


The Pensacola News Journal's Bill Vilona writes about the clinic opening and ride that Floyd Landis took part yesterday morning in the Pensacola, FLA area. Though gracious in this new role that he has assumed, Landis began this unexpected journey uncertainly:

If the original ruling stands -- that he used a performance-enhancing substance -- then his Tour de France title will be taken away. Landis, 31, also would face a competition ban up to four years, essentially ending his career as a professional tour cyclist.

Naturally, the issue follows him everywhere he goes.

"At first it was a bit overwhelming," he said. "But I learned how to deal with it. I don't mind it.

Blogs
Girlierev has fallen behind, but finally did catch up and was at today's final circuit stage of the Tour of Georgia around Centennial Park in Atlanta, when she heard a familiar voice over the loud speaker. Pictures are promised to follow.

Racejunkie says Landis causes Global Warming too, lighting into the Zuri-Metzgete would-be organizers.

RoadMag Blog shows Part I, part II, and part III of a video Landis press conference at the Tour of Georgia.

A Side of GRITS went to the Tour of Georgia stage at Stone Mountain yesterday to see big George Hincapie ride, and they met a likeable Floyd Landis there as well. Pictured below is "GRITS" with her husband David, and Floyd proving that he either WAS all over the Southeast yesterday, or that there are two Floyds:






Graeme Wallace has a nice slide show from Brasstown Bald, with a few shots of Landis signing at the BHR booth.


Forums
At DPF, Hombre teases a forthcoming issue of Bicycling Magazine, saying it says:

worker for USADA LA lab quits to work for Floyd

lab results laid out in a very clear way indicating he should or would get off if tested in LA or Aussieland to start with

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