Landis's Tour Title Is in Jeopardy

A race spokesman says Floyd Landis, a 30-year-old from Farmersville, Pa, would become the first rider to be stripped of the title in the Tour de France's 103-year history if a second urine sample tests positive. (Bas Czerwinski - AP)

"It's a mess," World Anti-Doping Agency Chair Dick Pound said. Cycling "has already taken a number of body blows. . . . The second, third, fourth and fifth finishers in last year's race were all busted in the Spanish thing. Now this . . . [but] first of all, we have to wait and see whether this is a formal positive."

Landis is entitled to be present when his B sample is tested, but he said he wasn't sure if he would avail himself of that privilege. Testosterone is considered among the trickier drugs for drug testers to pinpoint because it occurs naturally in the body. WADA requires that samples that possess greater than a 4 to 1 ratio of testosterone to epitestosterone be subject to further analysis, which includes the gathering of at least three additional urine samples to show that the high ratio is indicative of drug use. This step can only be bypassed if the sample was analyzed with what is known as the carbon-isotope ratio (CIR) test, a more expensive and complex testing procedure that can differentiate between natural and synthetic testosterone.

Landis said he did not know which testing methods were used. The simple ratio test alone has been subject to extensive criticism.

"It's kind of tragic this even got out," said Don Catlin, the director of the WADA-accredited U.S. drug-testing laboratory and pioneer behind the carbon-isotope ratio test. "It's possible to have a T/E ratio over 6 and still not have taken testosterone. It's not common, but it's possible. . . . [This testing] is as complex as they come. . . . I don't subscribe to the view that you put out these tentative positives."

UCI announced Wednesday that a rider on the Tour had produced "an adverse analytical finding" in initial testing of the sample, but it did not name the rider. When Landis dropped out of a race that night in the Netherlands, citing hip pain, attention focused on him. Yesterday, he skipped another planned event and his team announced the result of the preliminary testing on its Web site.

"The team management and the rider were both totally surprised of this physiological result," the Phonak Cycling Team said. "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."

Landis endeared himself even to the French with his unassuming style and daily heroics; he revealed during the Tour that he had a degenerative hip condition that would require surgery soon after the race. His ride during the 17th stage was immediately described as one of the most stunning performances in Tour history.

"We must respect the due process rights that are afforded to every athlete who competes in a sport that adheres to the World Anti-Doping Code," U.S. Olympic Committee President Peter Ueberroth said in a statement. "With that said, if the B sample confirms the result of the A sample, and if Floyd Landis is ultimately found to be guilty of a doping offense, it would be an incredible disappointment."