Floyd Landis tested positve for high levels of testosterone. What does that mean?

Question

What performance enhancing drugs could he have taken? All the articles about it say that he had illegally high testosterone, and synthetic testosterone. But they never say why that is illegal, and what drugs he could have taken to produce those numbers.

Answer 1

Alright, first i will answer your question, then give you my take on the situation.

Floyd Landis didn't test positive for high levels of testosterone, he tested for an illegal ratio of testosterone to epitestosterone which was 11:1. The drug he took was sythetic testosterone itself, if you belive the test, and it would give you more power (muscles), and i think it will give you better muscle recovery. This is what body builders have with ratios of 100:1. Testosterone, taken over prolonged amounts of time, will give you the muscular features of a body builder, since it is the male sex hormone that gives males more muscular features than women. The drug is not a steroid, and non lethal. Most pro cyclits take this drug in between races, when it is not illegal, to escalate recovery time for upcoming races and training, since it is not easy to ride 100-150 miles per day for 20 days while racing.

Now, the effort he used on Stage 17 is completely possible and heres why. If you watched stage 17, he was eating and drinking like crazy, and if i kept eating energy gels and bars and use 70 bottles of water, i dont think i would bonk. On top of that, cycling includes strategy, something which he used for the race. It was a predominantly mountain stage, which means it is totally individually powered, no peloton drafting you, except on the short flat before the final mountain where he did lose time. And he is one of the best downhillers in the peloton, whihch means if one of the guys in the front of the peloton arent also one of the best descenders, he is yet again putting time on them. The other contenders didnt want to put out an effort on other climbs besides the last, so they took it easier and went slower and yet again, Floyd lost a little more time on the last climb because he was weaker, but made it up on the decent because he decends better than Satsre. Also, long solo breakaways are exactlly how people won the tour from the beggining to the years of Bernard Hinault, so people were doing this before performance enhancing drugs were used. His coach even said that that is the way he trains, long and solo after stage 17 in the oln post race show.

Epitestosterone, like testosterone can be taken as a drug, which means that you can have high levels of testosterone but a normal ratio. He tested for a suspicous ratio of testosterone to epitestosterone. Now he would have to be so stupid that if he was doping, he forgot to take any epitestosterone the day he knew he was going to be under intesnse speculation because they do make their strategy before the race starts, and you would have to be really stupid to do that. So why wouldn't he, on the day he knew he would undergo intense criticism, forget to take epitestosterone to throw off the test. Most, if not all labs, only do ratio testing on Sample A, and if it is positive, then they do carbon testing on sample B, which tells you whether or not there is synthetic testosterone. I dont htink anyone, especially Floyd, would be that stupid, that if he was doping, forget to take epitestosterone with it, which would cause him to lose his carreer, dignity, place in history, and an inability to support his family, as far as cycling goes. Way too much pressure that if, you were doping, forget to do that.

In conclusion, the feat he accomplished was absolutley possible, if he was doping, why wouldnt he be taking epitestosterone with it, and cycling is extremelly important to the French. I am not a complete beliver of the French conspiracy theory either, but i do see it as a possibility. i have reason to belive Floyd didnt dope because of what i stated above. I hope you look at my answer with an open mind, and dont shun me because i might contradict what you belive.

Answer 2

I don't believe he 'cheated' in the Barry Bonds/Mark McGuire sense. TDF testing is very subjective, a dozen things can affect the out come of the test, for example, take a sample during a time the person is having an adrenaline 'rush' and see how much 'cheating' is in that sample
In TDF only the winner of the stage is tested?
Why not the whole field ? at every stage?
FL passed lots of other tests, what would be the advantage of using testosterone once, during a stage?
It looks more to me the Revenge of the French in the Post-Armstrong cycling era

'Roid Landis is funny, though!

Answer 3

He cheated for sure so now i shall refer to him as

ROID LANDIS!!! lol

Answer 4

He cheated. He doped. That's not fair.

Answer 5

he cheated

Answer 6

DOH