By John Bagratuni Jul 28, 2006, 3:49 GMT
Hamburg/Washington - Tour de France winner Floyd Landis denied Thursday that he used banned substances to win the most famous cycle race in the world.
Picture dated 23 July 2006 shows US Floyd Landis (Phonak Hearing Systems team) in the yellow jersey of the overall leader is flanked by second placed Spanish Oscar Pereiro (R) (Caisse d'Epargne-Illes Balears) at the start of the twentieth stage of the 93rd Tour de France 2006 in Sceaux-Antony, France. Landis tested positive for the steroid testosterone at the Tour de France and could be stripped of the title he won at the famed race if found guilty, his Phonak team said on Thursday, 27 July 2006. EPA/GERO BRELOER
His denial came in an interview with US-based magazine Sports Illustrated, after revelations that Landis failed a doping test administered after he won a gruelling July 20 mountain stage with an amazing breakaway ride.
Landis claimed that the positive drug test could have been caused by medicines taken for his hip ailment, or a thyroid gland complaint, or, like many other cyclists, he had a naturally high level of testosterone.
Asked if he took illegal drugs, Landis told the magazine, 'No, come on man.' But said he 'can't be hopeful' that the B sample will be any different than the A.
'I'm a realist,' he said. 'I wouldn't hold it against somebody if they don't believe me.'
Landis' denial came after his Swiss Phonak team said Thursday that the American failed the doping test after the 17th stage to Morzine.
If the results are replicated in the B sample, Landis could be the first man in Tour de France history to be stripped of the title for doping, in the latest massive scandal in the sport. Spain's Oscar Pereiro would be promoted to first place, Andreas Kloeden of Germany to second and Carlos Sastre of Spain to third.
'The Phonak Cycling Team was notified yesterday by the UCI about an unusual level of testosterone/epitestosterone ratio in the test made on Floyd Landis after stage 17 of the Tour de France,' said Phonak in a statement.
'The team management and the rider were both totally surprised of this physiological result. The rider will ask in the upcoming days for the counter analysis to prove either that this result is coming from a natural process or that this is resulting from a mistake in the confirmation.'
Phonak said that Landis is suspended and will be kicked off the team if he is found guilty. Landis will also face a two-year ban plus a two-year ban from ProTour cycling.
Landis won the 17th stage in spectacular fashion after a long solo ride over 130 kilometres across three major alpine peaks, the day after he lost 10 minutes on his main rivals after tiring dramatically in the mountains.
His comeback on July 20 was widely hailed as one of the most memorable moments in Tour history and paved the way to winning the world's most famous race on Sunday in Paris.
The news came a day after the ruling body UCI said that one rider had failed a doping test and that the rider, his team, domestic federation and the World Anti-Doping Agency had been informed.
Rumours were flying earlier Thursday when many nations said that they were not involved, and Landis had disappeared Wednesday after cancelling on short notice a race that day in the Netherlands and another event Thursday in Denmark.
Landis said he has retaining the services of Spanish doctor Luis Hernandez, who has helped other riders shown by tests to have elevated levels of testosterone.
Landis said that cortisone shots he has been taking for his degenerative right hip may have skewed the results. He also admitted taking 'small amounts of thyroid hormone' in a daily oral dose to treat a thyroid condition he has suffered for the last year.
Meanwhile, a planned parade in Landis' honour in his home town of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, is now likely to be be cancelled. Murrieta, the San Diego suburb where he now lives, was also planning a community celebration, and Landis had received a White House invitation to meet President George W Bush.
1988 Tour de France champion Pedro Delgado was caught with masking agents during that edition, but escaped sanctions because the substances were listed as banned by the International Olympic Committee but not the UCI, which only added them two weeks after that Tour.
It is the latest doping blow for professional cycling, which on the eve of this year's Tour lost top contenders Jan Ullrich, Ivan Basso and several other riders for alleged involvement in a Spanish doping scheme.
'This is another massive blow for cycling if the B-sample confirms the A-sample. But maybe there is a positive aspect of this latest prominent case. Now everyone will know that only a zero-tolerance policy and complete structural overhaul can save cycling,' said Christian Frommert, spokesman of Kloeden's T-Mobile team, where Ullrich formerly rode.
The latest major doping scandal at the Tour came in 1998, when the entire Festina team was kicked out after a team official was caught with doping substances.
In 1967, British rider Tom Simpson died from a cocktail of drugs during a mountain stage.
Landis' compatriot Lance Armstrong, who won a record seven consecutive Tour titles 1999-2005, was last year linked to substance abuse in 1999 by a French report, citing examinations of long-frozen samples. But he has never tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs in competition.
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