The Cycliste Moderne, July 30, 2006

This week has been an incredible downer. If you did not hear, Floyd Landis’ drug test after his incredible ride into Morzine on Stage 17 of the Tour de France came back with an abnormal result for testosterone.

Landis’ test did not show an impermissibly high level of testosterone, rather it produced a result showing a discrepancy in the ratio of testosterone to epitestosterone. That ratio is outside of the permissible parameters, not the level of testosterone in Landis’ system.

It is a shame that this cloud has emerged at this time. Landis has acknowledged that there is not a single positive outcome from these circumstances. His victory will always be overshadowed even if he is able to prove he did not take any performance enhancing substance that caused this anomalous result. With all the doping crises in cycling, people are no longer willing to give the benefit of the doubt to riders who have positive tests.

With respect to the testosterone/epitestosterone ratio, there are many professional cyclists who have proven they have naturally high testosterone levels or naturally occurring ratios that are outside of the normal parameters. It is very likely that Landis will be able to prove that his test was the product of a natural occurrence. That does not mean that he will be believed.

It has been interesting to see how this matter has played out in the press. The cycling press has been full of rider and organizer reactions. Some of it positive, much of it negative. It is to be expected from a sport that has been almost under siege when it comes to allegations of doping. Some of the most informative, analytical and thoughtful commentary has actually come from some of the more mainstream sporting press. Check out this piece by Bonnie DeSimone at ESPN.com and Austin Murphy on at CNNSi.com

Cycling has done a lot to clean its sport up. It is aggressive and quick moving in stamping out doping, yet the ones who suffer are the athletes. Everyone believes they cheat, while turning a blind eye to the doping cesspool that exists in such other high profile Euro centric sports like track and field and soccer. It is disappointing, but it does not mean that I am not going to continue to watch and enjoy cycling.

Track Positive Gets Little Attention

What has been amazing, however, is the lack of attention that other doping stories have received. Current world record holder in the 100 meters and Olympic gold medalist, Justin Gatlin, has acknowledged that he failed a drug test for “testosterone or its precursors” which in dope speak means his testosterone level was elevated and could be the result of steroids. You have to ask, however, why it is that Gatlin’s test occurred in April and we are just now finding out about it. In cycling, positive tests have become almost instantaneous. Typically in cycling the results of the A sample are known within a week or two. With the ProTour’s code of ethics that all of the top level teams subscribe to, a rider with a positive result will be removed from competition immediately. Since failing that test, Gatlin has tied the world record and has raced numerous times. Gatlin is facing a life time ban as this would be a second offense, the first having been for amphetamines in 2001. Additionally, Gatlin has been trained by Trevor Graham, the coach of now banned sprinter Tim Montgomery. Graham has had numerous clients serve drug bans over the years. In cycling, such coaches and trainers are drummed out of the sport. Amazingly, a quick Google search turns up in excess of 2 million pages referencing Floyd Landis and drugs while less than one hundred thousand turn up for Justin Gatlin and drugs.

Sorry, Move Along, There Is Nothing To Look At Here

In a story getting no coverage outside some of the cycling press, the five members of the Astana Wurth team implicated in the Operacion Puerto scandal prior to the Tour de France, which caused the withdrawl of the team from the Tour, thus ending Alexandre Vinokourov’s hope of winning the Tour, have been cleared of involvement with the doctors at question. So even though the team’s management was implicated in doping with the arrest of former manager Manolo Saiz, none of the riders named in the Operacion Puerto investigation are now subject to investigation and are free to ride.

The European inquisitorial system of the law leaves a lot to be desired to the Anglo American notions of a presumption of innocence before being proven guilty.