2 thoughts on “So bro…”

  1. Well, all my euro-pro peloton contacts tell me that this is a tricky situation. 😛

    Well only Landis’ A sample has tested positive, so there could be a lab error in testing. I think it’s highly unlikely that the B sample will come back different.

    Also what’s tested positive is not really a positive test in a way. It’s a ratio test, a ration of testosterone to epitestosterone – both of which are produced naturally by the body. So doping in this regard is really hard to detect since you have to separate the natural vs the unnatural testosterone – hence the ratio test. There’s a 4:1 T/E ratio limit – above that you test “positive”, tho there have been rare cases of atlete’s natural T/E ration being higher than that.You can detect unnatural T in the body by using some mass spectrometry of some carbon isotope that’s not found in the natural T.

    Having said that, most “dopers” would know about the T/E ratio, and would simply boost their “E” value in correspondence to beat the test.

    Landis is rumored to have a T/E ratio of 11:1, tho no numbers have been offically confirmed.

    Also there’s some question of what T would actually do for a racer. Most people seem to agree that it’s not all that usefull in the middle of a large stage race like the Tour. It has it’s best use over a prolonged time to work out and increase muscle mass. He was tested on stages before and after stage 17’s test, and they have all come back negative. So why would he use it only for that stage? hard to make sense of that.

    Also Stage 17 was a monumental stage. Landi’s performance was on par with the Red Soxs coming back from 3-0 and beating the Yankees. I mean very few people have come back from 8 minutes down. When you are 8 minutes down, your tour is over. So Landis’ performance was probably the best single day effory ever in the modern tour history. I can’t help but think he was a little pumped up that day. At least that’s what my heart wants to believe.

    If Landis gets stripped of the overall win, then it’s really really bad. The last 3 grand tour winners would have all been implicated in doping somehow. Something is going to change in the sport.

  2. I’m all bummed. I read more articles today and now it looks like he has testosterone from external sources. I really like to believe people when they say I’m innocent. I’m so gullible and naive. Maybe the B sample will come back negative.

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