NationStates Jolt Archive

Floyd Landis is set to lose his Tour de France title and faces a two-year ban after returning a positive B sample for excessive levels of testosterone.
The American's Phonak team dismissed Landis on Saturday when it was confirmed he produced levels more than twice the legal limit after stage 17.

Landis, 30, has said the high levels detected were a "natural occurrence".

Spaniard Oscar Pereiro will be declared the winner of the Tour de France if Landis is stripped of the title.

Pereiro was second overall behind Landis in the race, which finished in Paris on 23 July, and would become the first Spaniard to win the Tour since Miguel Indurain in 1995.

Confirmation of what people suspected. He still claims it was natural, but even his team have fired him.

Landis produced one of the most memorable displays in Tour history when he stormed to victory on the 17th stage of the Tour into Morzine by almost six minutes.

The win put him back into contention for the yellow jersey a day after his chances looked to have evaporated when he cracked on the final climb of stage 16.
But of course, maybe this is just the French at it again. Maybe they snuck in to his room at night and smothered him in testosterone cream.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/other_sports/cycling/5233476.stm

*sound of huge toilet flushing Landis*

Meh. Tour de France is boring anyway.

Except for the crashes. :)

He's either a cheat or twice the man others are! :p

I'm thrilled! I'm sick of my Dad's pro-American view at sports. Of course they're a lot better than his country, they have 74 times the population...

Anyway I knew that his 'boost' was unnatural. I mean one day it takes him 10 minutes to climb a bit of a mountain, the next he's several minutes ahead of everyone else. Pereiro deserved it, being in the lead for most of the tour anyway.

Does this mean that all those comments about 'Ha ha, America wins again, Europe sucks' will be withdrawn?

Does this mean that all those comments about 'Ha ha, America wins again, Europe sucks' will be withdrawn?
You mean like this one:
http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showpost.php?p=11423483&postcount=15


I'm fascinated by the fact that there have now been three Americans who have won this race, and essentially have dominated what is traditionally a European event.

Well, let's just take a look at what has happened over the last 300 years or so.

* Europeans ( and those from many other places on the earth ) who were rebellious, adventurous, or just plain upset or dissatisfied, left to come to the new world for a chance at a better life.

* These people built an entire nation with their bare hands and not much else.

* The following generations ( so far! ) inherited their parents' "can-do" attitude.

* As a result, the nation they built stands astride the world like a collsus. They work longer hours than almost any other people, they are generally more inventive, creative and industrious than any other people, and they set high goals for themselves, including things like the Tour de Fance.

This is not to say that things won't change, or that they're not in the process of changing right now, but whether you like it or not, those are the facts.

Hmm...

Doesn't change the fact that Americans won so many other times without cheating.

He's either a cheat or twice the man others are! :pSomeone who's more of a man wouldn't likely have a high testosterone/epitestosterone value. Either he's a cheat or very, very, very sick.

I wonder if this means the French will leave Lance Armstrong alone or if this means they'll call him a cheating steroid hound, even though each time he's been tested, the results came back negative.

:(

Hmm...

Doesn't change the fact that Americans won so many other times without cheating.

Like the time Chuck Norris won the Tour de France on a tricycle without tyres.

...

I'll leave now...

That's a real shame. Wonder if we'll be invited to participate in the next one.

Like the time Chuck Norris won the Tour de France on a tricycle without tyres.

...

I'll leave now...
Nope, idiot. He won it just by looking at at his bike and the competition's bikes. Those other bikes knew better than to risk being torn apart just by being breathed on by Mr. Norris. He has pinkies of steel too. I'll shut up before those gory pictures of Mr. Norris using his pinkies to slaughter an antire army come back.

He's either a cheat or twice the man others are! :p
More like eleven times the others are.
His test showed testostorone 11 times above what is considered normal.

His multitudinous list of excuses certainly deserves an award for creativity.

First it was, "I've got big balls" (well, ok naturally high testorone but you know what I mean);

Then it was, "I had a beer...no wait 2 beers. Maybe 3. And some whiskey. That gave me lots of testostorone" (Highly unlikely an athlete in the middle of a comp would down a few beers 'n' whiskey chasers, but who are we to judge someone else's training regime?);

Then it became, "I was dehydrated" (which goes against his comments on the day which were along the lines of, "It was great being so far out in front, as I had the support car and it's drinks all to myself");

And of course we had, "I had a thyroid problem and have been taking pills for that" And even though it never showed up prior, it somehow manufactured a shitload of testostorone only on that day (& neither prior nor post);

Plus the, "I've been taking cortisone injections for my hip" defence - again, never showed up any excess testostorone until that amazing stage win;

And who can forget the implied, "The French are jealous and delibrately tainted the sample cause they hate seeing an American win their race" (even though all this does is hand the title to a Spaniard, not a Frenchman)

Let's see, have I forgotten any?
Don't think so, but considering every time he opens his mouth a new excuse pops out, I probably have.

Appears to me that he's so desperate he's trying any and every excuse under the sun.

And that makes him look real guilty, imo.

What an idiot.
He deserves to be stripped of his medal (now that it's been confirmed by the second test).

Appears to me that he's so desperate he's trying any and every excuse under the sun.


Just you wait. He'll say the French spiked his food or something and failing that, Aliens did it :p

Oh at least let Landis keep a small memento of his cheating bid at winning the Tour De France.

Like a trophy in the shape of a Giant Asterisk!

* :D "You like me, you really, really like me..."

Just you wait. He'll say the French spiked his food or something and failing that, Aliens did it :p

Or "I did it to free the oppressed French people and bring democracy to this country!!"

:D

Just you wait. He'll say the French spiked his food or something and failing that, Aliens did it :p
I think a better excuse for the excess testosterone would be, "I've had Lance Armstrong's amputated gonad surgically attached to my body"

I think a better excuse for the excess testosterone would be, "I've had Lance Armstrong's amputated gonad surgically attached to my body"
rotfl:p