Landis Caught In Doping Scandal?

It was announced yesterday that a rider in the Tour de France has tested positive for a banned substance, but the name, nationality, team, and substance have yet to be announced. Rumors have begun circulating today that the rider who has tested positive is none other than Floyd Landis himself. I should stress, at this time, it is just a rumor, but if it proves to be true, what a damaging blow to the Tour, and Landis' reputation.

The Tour was rocked with scandal just one day before it's start when several of the pre-race favorites were banned for having their names linked to a doping ring. If the man who went on to become champion is found to have used a banned substance, the credibility of the race will once again be called into question, as it has been in the past. Cycling has had a long, sordid history with doping, with dozens, if not hundreds, of riders testing positive over the years. While they have taken steps recently to try to clean up the sport, it still seems to be a major hurdle to overcome.

And what of Landis? A few short days ago, I was singing his praises, and commenting on what a remarkable rider he was in this remarkable Tour. Should these rumors come to be true, it will send him out of cycling in disgrace. We all know that he's due to have hip replacement surgery in the coming months, but it's also likely he would face a lengthy ban from the sport, and few teams would want to take a chance on him following the surgery, a long lay-off, and the stigma have having being caught for doping. We may well have seen him take his last ride. It's a shame to, considering the good will he had built up with fans of the Tour.

I won't pass judgement yet. As I said earlier, these are all rumos at this point, and I'll be sure to update things as the news breaks, and we get further confirmation. But at this time it doesn't look great.

Update: Just minutes after making the above post, it became official. You can read about it at ESPN.com. Landis tested positive for high levels of testosterone following the 17th stage, which happens to be the same stage he made his remarkable comeback on. I'm assuming he'll be stripped of his Tour title, but we'll have to wait to see how everything plays out. I'm sure there will be an appeals process and other things that will need to be decided.

Update #2: Ok, a little more info on the subject is coming in. It seems that Landis has tested for a high testosterone to epitestosterone ratio, which is consistent with having injected testosterone, but there may be natural causes for this. It seems on the day before, when he bonked on stage 16, he was most likely dehydrated and probably had an imbalance in electrolytes. It has been suggested that while he was re-hydrating, and getting some nutrition in his body, he may have had a beer or two over the course of the evening. (Don't ask me why he would be having beer. Carbs perhaps?) Alcohol has been known to lead to high testosterone to epitestosterone ratios apparently, which is what the current speculation is to why he tested positive. The cortisone shots he takes for his hip pain may also be to blame. It should be noted that he is NOT testing for high levels of testosterone, just a high testosterone to epitestosterone ratio. That weighs in his favor, and will probably help in his defense. Lets hope this was all a natural occurance, and Floyd can hold onto his Tour win.