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Floyd Landis

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Template:Road bicycle racer infobox Floyd Landis (born October 14 1975) is an American professional cyclist and (as it stands now) the winner of the 2006 Tour de France. Landis was originally the third American to win the Tour de France after Greg LeMond and Lance Armstrong. His title is subject to a drug doping allegation due to an initial test indicating an unusual ratio of testosterone to epitestosterone, and a follow-up "B" sample result which confirmed high levels of testosterone [1]. As a consequence of the "B" sample result, Phonak has dismissed Landis from their team [2]. Although tour director Christian Prudhomme no longer considers Landis the winner [3], UCI lawyer Philippe Verbiest has said that Landis would officially remain Tour champion pending the American disciplinary process [4].

A time-trial specialist as well as a strong climber, Landis turned professional in 1999 with the Mercury Cycling Team. He joined Lance Armstrong's US Postal Service team in 2002, and moved to the Phonak Hearing Systems team in 2005.

Landis is married to Amber Basile, and they have a daughter, Ryan. They live in Murrieta, Riverside County, California.

Biography

He was raised in a conservative Mennonite community in the unincorporated village of Farmersville in West Earl Township, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. Unlike the more familiar Old Order Amish, conservative Mennonites do employ some modern technology, such as automobiles, but avoid television, movies, and many other elements of "modern" culture. Landis thus grew up somewhat isolated from modern American culture; however he did own a bicycle. He attended Conestoga Valley, a public school, and graduated in 1994, even though some members of his family attended private Mennonite school at some point.

Landis used his first bike to ride while out fishing with a friend, but quickly learned to enjoy riding for its own sake. He became determined to ride in a local race and showed up wearing sweatpants because his religion forbade wearing shorts; he won anyway. More wins followed as Landis continued to enjoy the sport. Disturbed at what he considered a "useless" endeavor such as racing bikes, his father tried to discourage him from participating by giving him extra chores. This left Landis no time to train during the day, so he often sneaked out to train at night—sometimes at 1 or 2 a.m.—in the freezing cold. Landis' father got a tip off that he had been going out at night. He was unable to appreciate his son's passion for cycling and thought that he might be getting into drugs or alcohol and often followed Landis at a distance to make sure he wasn't getting into trouble. Today, Landis' father has become a hearty supporter of his son and regards himself as one of his biggest fans.[5][6]

"Master of the Mountains"

Landis won the first mountain bike race he entered and in 1993 was crowned junior national champion. He told friends he would win the Tour de France one day. At age 20 Landis moved to Southern California to train full time as a mountainbiker. He soon established a reputation for toughness—once finishing a race riding on only his rims.[7] However, his training regimen resembled that of a road biker, and in 1999 he switched to road cycling.

He performed well enough that Lance Armstrong recruited him to U.S. Postal and chose Landis to ride alongside him in three straight Tour de France wins from 2002 to 2004. Landis often pushed the pace in the mountains to break the pack before Armstrong made his final move. In the 2004 edition, Landis led Armstrong and a few of Armstrong's main rivals over the final climb of stage 17, putting on such an impressive display of strength that comedian Robin Williams dubbed him the "Mofo of the Mountains." Landis's performance led some observers to peg him as a possible team leader and future winner of the maillot jaune. Landis left US Postal later that year after receiving a better contract offer from the Phonak squad.

In the 2005 Tour de France, Landis finished ninth overall in the General Classification, his highest finish at that time in the Tour.

Landis started the 2006 season strongly, with overall wins first in the Amgen Tour of California, and then in the prestigious Paris-Nice, both week-long stage races. Winning Paris-Nice gave Landis 52 points in the UCI ProTour individual competition, starting him off in first place for 2006. Landis continued with his display of strength with another overall win in the Ford Tour de Georgia April 18 to 23, where he not only won the time trial, but did not lose any time to anyone on the most difficult climbing stage, Brasstown Bald, (where Tom Danielson beat him across the uphill finish line, but with the same time).

2006 Tour de France

Floyd Landis on the Tour de France, July 23 2006.

In the lead-up to the 2006 Tour de France, Landis was widely mentioned as a dark horse contender, but the widespread assumption was that Ivan Basso or Jan Ullrich, the second and third place finishers in 2005, would win. But in the days immediately before the race, the Operación Puerto doping case led to Basso and Ullrich being withdrawn from the race, leaving Landis among a field of possible favorites.

Landis' Tour did not begin encouragingly. When his turn came to leave the start house in the Prologue time trial, he was not even there, having suffered a cut tire on his rear disc wheel. He finished ninth in the stage, just 9 seconds behind winner Thor Hushovd. His bad time trial luck continued during Stage 7, a 52 kilometre individual time trial to Rennes when a handlebar malfunction forced him to switch bikes midway through the race. Nevertheless, Landis managed to finish second, one minute behind T-Mobile's Serhiy Honchar of Ukraine, while also gaining an important time advantage over other top contenders for the overall victory in this year's Tour as it headed into the first mountain stages.

In the second mountain stage, he was among the few that could hold on to the fierce pace set by the riders of the Rabobank team, and came in third, along with Denis Menchov and Levi Leipheimer. He held the yellow jersey until Stage 13, when he and his team let a group get a half-hour lead in the stage, allowing his former teammate Óscar Pereiro, to take the overall lead by 89 seconds. The assumption was that Pereiro, who had lost half an hour in the three previous mountain stages, would not be a serious contender in the Alps, and that it would be easy to win the jersey back. And indeed, in Stage 15, on the slopes of the infamous l'Alpe d'Huez, Landis outrode Pereiro by almost two minutes, regaining the jersey and a 10-second overall lead in the process.

However, the next day, Landis "bonked" on the final ascent to the summit of La Toussuire, losing ten minutes, and fell from first to eleventh place in the general classification, ending up eight minutes behind the overall leader, Pereiro. Landis reportedly had a lapse in concentration and failed to eat enough during the ride in this stage.[8] With only two more stages where the GC could reasonably be contested (Stage 18 being relatively flat) remaining in the Tour, one more mountain stage and one time trial, almost everyone paying attention assumed his disastrous performance would mark the end of his chance to win the Tour, or even achieve a place on the podium (Eddy Merckx being a notable exception, who bet 100 euros against 75 to 1 odds that Landis would still win the Tour; note also that his son, Axel Merckx, was on Landis's Phonak team for the 2006 Tour). [9]

On the following day's Stage 17, however, Landis stunned the cycling world with a 120 km solo breakaway attack that has been called "one of the most epic days of cycling ever seen,"[10] earning comparisons to the famed rides of Eddy Merckx. At one point on the course, he was 9'04" clear of maillot jaune-wearing Pereiro, and ultimately won the stage by nearly six minutes over Team CSC's Carlos Sastre and took more than seven minutes out of Pereiro's lead. At the end of the day, Landis sat in third place overall, 18 seconds behind Sastre and just 30 seconds back from the time of the Tour leader — leads that were well within the range of what he could overcome in the final time trial.

And indeed, in Stage 19, a 57 km individual time trial, Landis finished third, 1'29" ahead of Pereiro and 3'31" ahead of Sastre to reclaim the yellow jersey with a lead of 59 seconds. Landis retained the lead through Stage 20, the "procession" into Paris, to win the 2006 Tour de France by 57 seconds.

Floyd Landis is the third American to win the event (Lance Armstrong, 7 wins; Greg LeMond, 3 wins) since the race began in 1903. Landis' win marks the 8th in a row by an American starting with Armstrong's first Tour win in 1999. It also means that Americans have won the race 11 times in the 26 years since Jacques Boyer became the first American to ride in the Tour in 1981.

Doping investigation

On July 27, 2006 the Phonak Cycling Team announced Floyd Landis had an "A sample" test come back positive with an unusually high ratio of the hormone testosterone to epitestosterone after his famous ride in Stage 17 of the Tour de France.[11] Landis denied doping when waiting for the results of his "B sample" to confirm the initial drug test. [12] Landis was then suspended pending the results, with Phonak stating he would be dismissed should his B sample prove positive.[13] Landis' personal doctor later revealed the test had found a ratio of 11:1 in Landis' blood. The permitted ratio is 4:1. [14] Also, the carbon isotope test results indicated the presence of synthetic testosterone that would not be naturally produced.[15]

Landis officially requested the testing of his backup urine sample on July 31, 2006. The result of his B sample test was announced on August 5, 2006, confirming the positive test for testosterone in the A sample.[16] He was fired by his team and will most likely lose his Tour de France champion's title.

Landis had five days to make the request. However, the International Cycling Union (UCI) asked the laboratory Châtenay-Malabry to go ahead and test the B sample on Monday, claiming that Landis had yet to do so. The UCI said "We have done this so the whole thing can be speeded up. ... We took this decision because of the importance of the case. Also the longer it goes on the more damage the sport risks suffering." In response, a spokesman for Landis has insisted that the cyclist himself asked on Monday for the B sample to be tested, well within the five-day limit required of the athlete. If the UCI had not asked for the test, and Landis had waited until Wednesday to appeal for the B sample to be tested, the result would not have been known for several weeks as the laboratory shuts for the holidays at the end of the week.[17]

Among Landis' lawyers are Jose Maria Buxeda from Spain and Howard L. Jacobs from the U.S. Buxeda represented Spanish cyclist Roberto Heras when he was suspended for two years after testing positive for EPO. Jacobs has extensive experience defending athletes accused of doping such as cyclist Tyler Hamilton and sprinter Tim Montgomery.

Validity of the test

There is some debate as to whether the test necessarily proves doping.[18] Hypothyroidism (which Landis has), causes low levels of SHBG that can cause testosterone to accumulate (since testosterone bound to SHBG reduces its biological availability).[citation needed] Although this can result in an unusually high T/E ratio, no prior tests from Landis have tested positive, including all his earlier tour tests, as well as testing throughout the 2006 season (this bears upon the assumption that high T/E ratios indicate use of steroids as part of a training regimen to improve muscle mass, discussed in Perry PJ, Andersen KH, Yates WR. Illicit anabolic steroid use in athletes: a case series analysis. Am J Sports Med 1990;18:422-428). Alcohol consumption is another possible cause of an elevated T/E ratio. Landis stated he had had 2 beers and "at least" four shots of "Jack Daniels" following his disastrous Stage 16 performance. [19] [18] Alcohol consumption has been shown to increase T/E ratios by roughly 40% in men.[20] However, the increase in testosterone after alcohol intake has also been described as unlikely to have a huge effect with males. [21]

Effects of testosterone

There is debate whether the use of testosterone leads to an increase in energy and strength. Some have argued an athlete is highly unlikely to use testosterone for a quick boost as its effectiveness is greatest with long-term application. It has been suggested that Landis may have been using testosterone over the long term but either masking it or diluting it to avoid detection. The positive test result was thus due to a mistake with the doping program on one day.[22] Other physicians have claimed that testosterone can have a great short-term effect. [23]

It should also be noted that after every stage of the Tour de France, the yellow jersey, stage winner, and two random riders[24] are tested for testosterone. As such, Landis would have been tested several other times. He has only been reported as failing the test following the 17th stage, which might discount a naturally high T/E ratio.

Statisticians have discussed the problems with interpreting test results from high volume and repeated testing in the context of other high profile cases involving well known athletes. For instance, the American middle distance runner Mary Decker Slaney had a higher than acceptable T/E ratio in a urine test at the Olympic trials in 1996. The Bayesian statistician Don Berry presented statistical arguments on her behalf in September 1997 to a Doping Hearing Board of the USA Track and Field (USATF). Slaney was exonerated at that hearing, although the international association later overturned the ruling. An accessible description of the statistical issues was later published in the journal Chance.[25]

Exogenous testosterone

On 1 August 2006 media reports said that the testosterone was synthetic and that the lab had performed a carbon isotope ratio test, or CIR on the A sample, the results of which showed that some of the testosterone in Landis’s body came from an external source and was not naturally produced by his own system. These reported results conflict with Landis's assertions that it was a natural occurrence.[26][14]

The CIR test distinguishes between testosterone produced naturally by the athlete's body and synthetic testosterone introduced from an outside source. The test is also known as Isotope Ratio Mass Spectrometry (IRMS). According to Dr. Gary I. Wadler, a member of the World Anti-Doping Agency, the carbon isotope ratio test needs to be done only once, on either an A or on a B sample, particularly if the athlete’s T/E ratio is high as in Landis' case. [14]

Reaction among cyclists

After the A sample, retired American cyclist and three-time Tour de France winner Greg LeMond doubted whether additional doping tests would reverse Landis' earlier results. He stated, "I hope the sampling comes back negative, unfortunately, I think the labs in Europe are very professional." [27]

On July 28, 2006 Landis appeared on Larry King Live to explain his situation and reiterate his innocence.[28] Seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong also called in to express support for his former teammate. Armstrong remains skeptical of the French laboratory that conducted Landis' drug test, noting it is the same laboratory involved in some of the former doping allegations against himself. [29]

Hip ailment

The powerful performance of Landis up to Stage 16 of the Tour de France and his comeback in Stage 17 is particularly notable given his hip ailment, osteonecrosis, which was revealed in an article in The New York Times during the 2006 Tour de France.[30] This deterioriation in the ball joint of his right hip stemmed from diminished blood supply and constricted blood vessels caused by scar tissue. The original injury that led to the formation of the scar tissue was a femoral neck fracture sustained in a bicycle crash during a training ride near his Southern California home in October 2002. Landis kept the ailment secret from his teammates, rivals, and the media until an announcement made while the 2006 Tour was underway. This same ailment also affected former multi-sport athlete Bo Jackson and American football player Brett Favre.

Landis rode the 2006 Tour with the constant pain of the injury, which he described thus: "It's bad, it's grinding, it's bone rubbing on bone. Sometimes it's a sharp pain. When I pedal and walk, it comes and goes, but mostly it's an ache, like an arthritis pain. It aches down my leg into my knee. The morning is the best time, it doesn't hurt too much. But when I walk it hurts, when I ride it hurts. Most of the time it doesn't keep me awake, but there are nights that it does."[31]

During the Tour, Landis was medically approved to take cortisone for this injury, a medication otherwise prohibited in professional cycling for its known potential for abuse. Landis himself called his win "a triumph of persistence" despite the pain.[32]

Landis plans to undergo hip replacement surgery. It is unclear whether he will be able to compete at a professional level following rehabilitation.

Physical statistics

  • Height: 5'-10" (1.78m)
  • Weight: 150 lb (68kg)

Major results

NOTE: Because of a recent positive test for an abnormally high ratio of testosterone to epitestosterone during stage 17, it is possible that Landis' 2006 Tour de France results could be revoked.

2006 - Phonak Hearing Systems
  • 1st overall – Tour de France (all of these results are now in question)
    • Yellow jersey, General Classification leader during Stages 12, 13, 16 and 20.
    • 1st, Stage 17 (Combativity award)
    • 3rd, Stage 19 (ITT)
    • 4th, Stage 15
    • 3rd, Stage 11
    • 2nd, Stage 7 (ITT)
    • 9th, Prologue (ITT)
  • 1st overall – Tour de Georgia
    • 1st, Stage 3 (ITT) – Tour de Georgia
  • 1st overall – Paris-Nice
  • 1st overall – Tour of California
    • 1st, Stage 3 (ITT) – Tour of California
  • 1st, Profronde van Stiphout (post-Tour criterium)
2005 - Phonak Hearing Systems
2004 - U.S. Postal Service
2003 - U.S. Postal Service
2002 - U.S. Postal Service
2001 - Mercury Pro Cycling Team
2000 - Mercury Pro Cycling Team
1999 - Mercury Pro Cycling Team

References

  1. ^ "Landis "B" Test Results In". CBS News. 2006-08-05. Retrieved 2006-08-05. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  2. ^ "Phonak Cycling Team to clarify consequences". Phonak Cycling Team. 2006-08-05. Retrieved 2006-08-05. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  3. ^ "Backup Test Confirms Adverse Findings in Tour de France Champ Landis' Urine". FoxNews.com. 2006-08-05. Retrieved 2006-08-05. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  4. ^ "Landis Tests Positive; Title in Jeopardy". Chicago Tribune. 2006-08-05. Retrieved 2006-08-05. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  5. ^ OLN Television broadcast of the 2006 Tour de France, July 22 2006
  6. ^ The New American in Paris, page 5 Outside Magazine online, July 2006 issue
  7. ^ "Landis, Tiger rise to the occasion". Sierra Sun. 2006-07-23. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  8. ^ Willam Fotheringham, "After all the twists and turns a deserving ruler emerges from the anarchy", The Guardian, July 24, 2006.
  9. ^ Robbie Hunter, "Any more doubts as to who is the strongest?", Robbie Hunter's diary, 20.07.2006 22:31
  10. ^ "Reactions to Landis's launch", VeloNews, July 20, 2006.
  11. ^ Template:Cite news url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/other sports/cycling/5221122.stm
  12. ^ Toman, Mar (2006-07-31). "Landis requests backup sample to clear doping allegations". Yahoo Sports!. Retrieved 2006-08-01. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  13. ^ "Landis gives positive drugs test". BBC News. 2006-07-27. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  14. ^ a b c Macur, Juliet (2006-07-31). "Testosterone in Landis's Body Said Not to Be Natural". New York Times. Retrieved 2006-08-01. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  15. ^ "Test Said to Show Synthetic Testosterone in Landis's Body". 2006-07-31. Retrieved 2006-08-01. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  16. ^ "Backup Sample on Landis Is Positive". New York Times. 2006-8-5. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  17. ^ "Pressure mounts for Landis B test". BBC Sport. BBC. 2006-07-31. Retrieved 2006-08-01. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  18. ^ a b van de Kerkhof DH, de Boer D, Thijssen JH, Maes RA, "Evaluation of testosterone/epitestosterone ratio influential factors as determined in doping analysis", Journal of Analytical Toxicology, 24(2):102-115, 2000 March Cite error: The named reference "report" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  19. ^ "Floyd Landis's Alcohol Defense". The Wall Street Journal Online. 2006-08-02. Retrieved 2006-08-01. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  20. ^ Falk O, Palonek E, Bjorkhem I., "Effect of ethanol on the ratio between testosterone and epitestosterone in urine."
  21. ^ Tanner, Lindsey (2006-07-28). "Urine test reveals elevated testosterone levels". Yahoo Sports!. Retrieved 2006-08-01. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  22. ^ Hersh, Philip (2006-07-31). "French-fried conundrum Landis doping case not at all clear-cut". Sports (Commentary). The Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2006-08-01. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  23. ^ Kaufman, Michelle (2006-07-29). "Toxicologist says testosterone can have great short-term effect". The Mercury News. Retrieved 2006-08-01. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  24. ^ Macur, Juliet (2006-07-28). "Tour champ suspended after testing positive". Retrieved 2006-08-01. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  25. ^ Berry, Don (2004). "Inferences about testosterone use among athletes" (PDF). Vol. 17. Chance.
  26. ^ "Synthetic testosterone found in Landis urine sample". Sports Illustrated. 2006-08-01. Retrieved 2006-08-01. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  27. ^ "Mom keeps the faith / LeMond: Take High Road". PE.com. 2006-07-27. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  28. ^ "Larry King Live Transcript - July 28, 2006".
  29. ^ "Armstrong backs Landis". Adelaide Now. 2006-07-30. Retrieved 2006-08-01. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  30. ^ "What He's Been Pedaling", The New York Times, July 16, 2006.
  31. ^ "Landis's Hip Will Need Surgery After Bid for Tour", The New York Times, July 10, 2006.
  32. ^ Fotheringham, Alasdair (2006-07-24). "Cycling: Landis the Tour king celebrates a triumph of survival". The Independent. Retrieved 2006-07-28. (subscription required)

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