| |
|
Sports Betting Articles
Floyd Landis: The Antithesis to Lance Armstrong
By Joseph Collins
The last week in July 2006 set a new standard for shock and awe: three unrelated sports doping cases in the news at once. Barry Bonds, slugger for the SF Giants has lingered in the news for months over steroid allegations. Add to that Floyd Landis, winner of the 2006 Tour de France, and Justin Gatlin, co-holder of the world record for the 100-meter dash. Of these three, the case of Floyd Landis carries the greatest international implications and promises to keep the issue of steroid abuse in the news for some time to come. What happened to Floyd on those French mountain roads and why is his case riding on quicksand?
The Tour de France was once an obscure European cycling race of which few Americans were aware. Begun in 1903 and interrupted by two world wars, the race was won exclusively by European riders for decades. Then in 1986, American Greg LeMond became the first non-European to win the world’s top cycling event. He would go on to win it again in 1989 and ’90. Then phenom Lance Armstrong, cancer-survivor story in tow, won the Tour a record seven straight times, the last win coming in 2005. America was now in love with the Tour de France! While some accusations of doping have been hurled at Armstrong, he remains free of any evidence of cheating and is an American icon of toughness and determination to beat the odds.
When the “Lance-less" Americans set out to compete in the 2006 Tour, it was a wide open race. Late in the game, the Team USA was not in winning contention. Landis had a disappointing Stage 16, losing 10 minutes on LaToussuire in the French Alps. Meanwhile, Spanish riders Oscar Pereiro and Carlos Sastre were running one and two and were destined to follow in the footsteps of countryman Miguel Indurain, a five-time Tour de France winner. Suddenly, Landis made up for lost time. In Stage 17, he moved from 11th place to 3rd, putting himself and the two Spaniards all within 30 seconds of one another! So astonishing was his sprint from St. Jean de Maurienne to Morzine that CyclingNews correspondent Anthony Tan wrote the following:
“Written off by most after his collapse of yesterday, Floyd Landis staged a comeback that defied logic."
Not only would Landis go on to win the Tour de France, he was also awarded the Prix de la Combativite, an award given to the most aggressive rider of the day. The accolades poured in. Floyd Landis literally emerged from the shadow of Lance Armstrong, sharing in a $2.1 million dollar purse and fielding endorsement offers from all over the world.
Days later, the urine sample Floyd submitted for the now famous Stage 17 came back positive for elevated levels of testosterone. Since then, Landis and his attorneys contend that his elevated levels were naturally produced by his body. While possible, there are several troubling points of evidence that weigh heavily against Landis’ claim:
-
The Tour demands samples from all riders throughout various stages of the race. It was only Landis’ Stage 17 sample that tested positive. What happened between the failure of Stage 16 and the “defied logic" of Stage 17?
-
Landis has offered several conflicting and unconvincing possibilities for why he tested positive, ranging from alcohol consumed to dehydration to natural production. The truth tends to follow a straight line.
-
The US Anti-Doping Agency uses a Testosterone-to-Epitestosterone test in order to determine a ratio of the two naturally-occurring chemicals in the body. Most people average somewhere around a 1:1 ratio. The USADA allows a 4:1 ratio, taking into account factors typically present in athletic competition. Ratios ranging from 6:1 up to 9:1 are considered abnormal, although 6:1 has been seen in non-doping athletes. Landis’ ratio was an eye-popping 11:1.
-
In the interest of thoroughness and in anticipation of legal challenges, another test was used to determine the cause of elevated testosterone levels in the case of an initial positive reading. The Carbon Isotope Ratio Analysis test determined that the elevated levels of testosterone in Landis’ body were synthetic and not naturally occurring. This eliminates any claim on his part of naturally occurring hormone production.
If the US Anti-Doping Agency finds Floyd Landis guilty of using a banned substance in order to improve his performance, he could go down in the Tour’s 103-year history as the first rider ever to be stripped of the title as a result of doping. Not only could this be extremely embarrassing for America, Floyd and his family, it could renew vicious rumors and innuendo against Lance Armstrong. It would also serve as a further blow to the professional cycling world which continues to struggle under repeated accusations of widespread steroid abuse. As a sports fan, I am hoping for the best but expecting the worst. This is one international scandal that is sure to leave a stain on all who are connected
to it.
|
|
|
|
LATEST ARTICLES:
Articles Archives :
|
|
|
