It is imperative for anyone who wants to discuss Floyd Landis to get their facts from somewhere other than mainstream media. The media has done a TERRIBLE job of relaying the facts.
The first thing that troubles me is that the results of the tests were leaked by the UCI. This bothers me because on its website the UCI states,
“The World Anti-doping Code and the Anti-doping Rules of the UCI do not allow to make the name of the concerned rider public.”
Yet even though they state this, they did leak Mr. Landis’ results to the press. On July 27th UCI President Pat McQuaid gave an interview to Velonews. In his interview he states the following:
"I had a call to inform me about Landis testing positive just as I was getting on the plane to come here yesterday," McQuaid said Thursday evening. "We decided to make an announcement right away because we have been criticized in the past for not doing so - particularly in the case of an important rider.
"Also, we know that the French laboratory [where the testing was done] has a close connection with [French sports daily] L'Équipe, and we did not want this news to come through the press, because we are sure they would have leaked it.
It is mystifying to me how an organization that was created to enforce certain laws and ethics can think it is ok to turn around and break those laws. Is it ok for an organization to break its own laws simply to prevent someone else from doing it? I think the cycling public in general would not agree with this logic.
The second thing that bothers me is this lab, which clearly has its own issues with ethics and standards, is still performing tests in which the livelihood of professional athletes hangs in the balance. How can an entity be involved with upholding laws and standards to others when it refuses to follow the laws it is governed by?
Mr. McQuaid himself stated in his interview that this lab cannot be trusted to follow the regulations laid out by the anti-doping community. It seems common knowledge that this lab is in L’Equipe’s employ, yet no one in the anti-doping arena seems concerned about this. They are more concerned with railroading Mr. Landis as quickly as possible.
We also have an independent investigator that filed a 132 page report in regards to this same lab. This report is regarding the allegations this lab made against another America cyclist, Lance Armstrong. Below are two excerpts from the report.
Despite the recognition of the proper jurisdiction of the independent investigator by all individuals and organizations that were contacted, the French Ministry, the LNDD (‘Laboratoire Nationale De Dépistage Du Dopage’) and WADA, all refused to provide the investigator with the documents and full cooperation necessary to reach definite conclusions on certain issues that remain unresolved. The refusal by the LNDD, the French Ministry and WADA to provide documents and information that are necessary for the proper conduct of a complete investigation is extremely troubling and is inconsistent with the principles of the Olympic Movement.
The results reported by the LNDD that found their way into the L’Equipe article are not what they have been represented to be. They did not involve proper testing of urine samples, as explained in detail in this report. While the testing conducted may have been useful for research purposes - which remains to be determined – the failure of the underlying research to comply with any applicable standard and the deficiencies in the report render it completely irresponsible for anyone involved in doping control testing to even suggest that the analyses results that were reported constitute evidence of anything. To suggest in any way that any of the analyses results could properly be associated with a particular rider or riders, is misleading and constitutes at least gross negligence, given the complete absence of an internal or external chain of custody, proper record keeping and security with respect to the urine samples from the 1998 and the 1999 Tours de France that were tested, and the absence of any protection against samples having been spiked with r-EPO or contamination by other samples.
Statements like these cause great concern among cycling fans. How are cycling fans supposed to have any faith in the results of doping tests when the organizations responsible seem to have such an “above the law” mentality? It seems they want to make allegations against people, but the second someone challenges them they run and hide. Typically when someone refuses to cooperate in an investigation they are guilty of something. We see no such refusal from Mr. Landis.
The final issue that many cycling fans have with the current investigation of Mr. Landis is the assertion that he took testosterone to assist with his infamous Stage 17 ride. It seems that many people who know much more about doping and effects on the body than I find this theory implausible. Dr. Gary Wadler is one such expert. He currently serves on the World Anti-Doping Agency's Prohibited List and Methods Committee and has served on its Health, Medicine, and Research Committee. A direct quote from Dr. Wadler sums it up well.
Testosterone creams, pills and injections can build muscle and strength and improve recovery time after exertion when used over a period of several weeks, according to Dr. Gary Wadler, a member of the World Anti-Doping Agency and a spokesman for the American College of Sports Medicine.
But if Landis had been a user, earlier urine tests during the Tour would have been affected, too, Wadler said. Landis' first reported abnormal result was last Thursday, after his amazing come-from-behind performance in stage 17 of the race.
One-time use of steroids could result in an abnormal test, but it would have no effect on performance and could not account for Landis' astounding feat Thursday, "so something's missing here," Wadler said. "It just doesn't add up."
All of the above combined would easily create reasonable doubt if we were in a public court. However, it is possible if not likely that the Tour de France officials in conjunction with the flawed and apparently biased assistance of the anti-doping organizations could potentially succeed in convicting Mr. Landis. At the very least could succeed in ruining him.
A special committee shoud be convened to investigate the anti-doping agencies breaking their own laws and sacrificing the moral high ground necessary to punish other law breakers, the lab that has a poor reputation that has made unfounded accusations in the past and the validity of expert testimony like Dr. Wadler’s that says everything has not been adequately explained. This should be done for the good of athletes everywhere, for Mr. Landis and for the sake of justice and ethics in general.
1. The validity and relevance of the tests performed on Mr. Landis
2. The chain of custody of the samples
3. That the LNDD followed proper procedures in performing the tests
4. Is it physiologically possible or impossible for 1 dose of testosterone to account for Mr. Landis’ performance on Stage 17?
5. Is it possible for a person who is doping to only have 1 abnormal blood test during a doping cycle?
I do not presume that the above list covers everything, but it speaks to the effort that needs to be made to answer the questions that millions of people have. These findings should then be released to the public in a concise and clear fashion so that Mr. Landis can be vindicated or clearly found guilty. To date the press has done an abysmal job of reporting the issues around this story accurately.
Cycling is an amazing sport, but more than cycling these questions should be answered to safeguard the Olympic spirit and its commitment to honesty, fair play and excellence.
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