Landis letter re drug use in cycling

[rata de sentina]

I have little doubt he believes it was a false positive...I doped like a mofo that day, but with my own blood not testosterone....oh yeah i was on testosterone at the time the blood was taken to help recovery. s&%t

Bingo.......!

I posted this in another thread but it crashed on take off so I´ll transplant it here.

Briefly, there are a few explanations I have seen for this:

Landis can´t admit to this because he testified to the contrary and it would be tantamount to perjury. I am not sure of this? Does that apply to CAS and other doping panels?

Landis or Lim stuffed up and the testosterone was taken inadvertently instead of some other doping product (he admits to HGH at the time). Basically a medication error, happens all the time by medical professionals why not by dopey cyclists.

If Landis was transfusing then he may have used in error a blood bag which was contaminated by testosterone since it was collected when he was using testosterone (as you would expect during a recovery period).

I think there are some plausible explanations for Landis inadvertently (or being too thick to work it out) having testosterone which might explain why he went to such extreme lengths to try and exonerate himself.

 

[Dr. Maserati]

Re: Landis doping.

Some questions - has he said he did not dope at all for the 06 Tour, or just that he had not taken Testosterone?
(knowlingly) ie it may have been detected because it was part of his blood bag?

Also - he got convicted for his doping.
How could he now face 'perjury' when he got convicted anyway? Surely every 'criminal' who says I didn't do it yet gets convicted would face perjury charges also?

 

[eleven]

Re: Landis doping.

Some questions - has he said he did not dope at all for the 06 Tour, or just that he had not taken Testosterone?
(knowlingly) ie it may have been detected because it was part of his blood bag?

Also - he got convicted for his doping.
How could he now face 'perjury' when he got convicted anyway? Surely every 'criminal' who says I didn't do it yet gets convicted would face perjury charges also?

Landis admits he was doping in 2006, but continues to claim the 2006 testosterone result was false.

But your 2nd point is a good one. Not sure how that would work.

 

[VeloCity]

Landis admits he was doping in 2006, but continues to claim the 2006 testosterone result was false.

Could very well be that Landis is - technically - telling the truth: he didn't specifically take testosterone. But at the same time, the test results are also telling the truth: something that he did take screwed up his t/e ratio. Whether that was blood with syn test in it, or as a secondary effect of HGH use, or whatever, the fact that Landis' testosterone levels far exceeded the upper limits suggests to me that he was totally unaware that whatever he was taking/doing was playing havoc with his testosterone levels. And that the IRMS tests indicated the presence of synthetic testosterone in multiple samples (and the spikes in his hematocrit over the course of the '06 Tour) suggests to me that he was probably transfusing blood that contained at least traces of synthetic testosterone.

So could be that while Landis was telling the truth, the testing was accurate, and that it was just bad luck/a screwup on Landis' part.

 

[BikeCentric]

Re: Landis doping.

Some questions - has he said he did not dope at all for the 06 Tour, or just that he had not taken Testosterone?
(knowlingly) ie it may have been detected because it was part of his blood bag?

He said that he was on HGH and blood doping during the 2006 Tour but not Testosterone. This was in the ESPN interview with Bonnie Ford, of which there is more that will (presumably) be released soon.

 

[kurtinsc]

Re: Landis doping.

Some questions - has he said he did not dope at all for the 06 Tour, or just that he had not taken Testosterone?
(knowlingly) ie it may have been detected because it was part of his blood bag?

Also - he got convicted for his doping.
How could he now face 'perjury' when he got convicted anyway? Surely every 'criminal' who says I didn't do it yet gets convicted would face perjury charges also?

Landis was convicted in criminal court of doping?

I'm not sure about his case in particular, but based on how other dopers get penalized in the US, it usually works something like this.

1. Athelete is asked by a government official under oath if they doped. They say "no". Most of the time, the doping isn't strictly illegal... for example if a doctor prescribes steroids, there's nothing illegal about an individual taking them... but it is still against the rules of their sport.

2. Athelete then admits at a later date to doping.

3. Athelete gets convicted of perjury/lying under oathe/whatever.

They would have served no jail time if they had admitted up front to doping, but they would have lost status/championships/money from their career. So they lie... get caught in their lie... then have to go to jail.

 

[alberto.legstrong]

Not sure if its been posted yet but here it is again, story translation courtesy of NY Velocity, worthy read:

A Dirty Deal

http://nyvelocity.com/content/features/2010/dirty-deal

Basically states what many have thought or hypothesized for some time, UCI must also go down.

Anyone who is interested in this subject:
The next time you get some quiet time, read this entire article.

 

[alberto.legstrong]

Punctuation is your friend

Not to mention sobriety.

 

[Cerberus]

Could very well be that Landis is - technically - telling the truth: he didn't specifically take testosterone. But at the same time, the test results are also telling the truth: something that he did take screwed up his t/e ratio. Whether that was blood with syn test in it, or as a secondary effect of HGH use, or whatever, the fact that Landis' testosterone levels far exceeded the upper limits suggests to me that he was totally unaware that whatever he was taking/doing was playing havoc with his testosterone levels. And that the IRMS tests indicated the presence of synthetic testosterone in multiple samples (and the spikes in his hematocrit over the course of the '06 Tour) suggests to me that he was probably transfusing blood that contained at least traces of synthetic testosterone.

So could be that while Landis was telling the truth, the testing was accurate, and that it was just bad luck/a screwup on Landis' part.

No I don't think that's possible. First they test the T/E ration, but after that test turned up positive they specifically tested for synthetic testosterone and that one was positive to. the T/E ration can be screwed up by other things than takign testosterone, at least in theory, but the test for artificial testosterone AFAIK cannot.

 

[Colm.Murphy]

Wow, really needed to dig out the old Google pages for this.

Landis: The T/E test was botched. The AAA panel tossed it. The T concentration was not "high", the "E" was low...due to the botch job.

The IRMS was a mess. It showed "positive" but in a way that was not consistent with "T" use. Lab could not get what they wanted and kept erasing the runs on the machine, overwriting data that they did not like.

Once entrenched Lab had to do whatever necessary to keep Landis pos.

Whether this is all due to a "T" tainted blood infusion, certainly could be the case.

I don't really hear Landis clamoring to say "I doped but my 06 TdF win was pure". It very well could be he was proficient enough to avoid testing pos and the Lab simply ensnared him due to incompetence, then convicting him in an adjudication that gives the athlete very little chance.

There is no point for Landis to exclude the 06 TdF from his doping story, in fact, it would be crucial to explain to trap Rihs, Lelangue and others. Again, don't hear him protesting about the TdF win as clean.

 

[BikeCentric]

Wow, really needed to dig out the old Google pages for this.

Landis: The T/E test was botched. The AAA panel tossed it. The T concentration was not "high", the "E" was low...due to the botch job.

The IRMS was a mess. It showed "positive" but in a way that was not consistent with "T" use. Lab could not get what they wanted and kept erasing the runs on the machine, overwriting data that they did not like.

Once entrenched Lab had to do whatever necessary to keep Landis pos.

Whether this is all due to a "T" tainted blood infusion, certainly could be the case.

I don't really hear Landis clamoring to say "I doped but my 06 TdF win was pure". It very well could be he was proficient enough to avoid testing pos and the Lab simply ensnared him due to incompetence, then convicting him in an adjudication that gives the athlete very little chance.

There is no point for Landis to exclude the 06 TdF from his doping story, in fact, it would be crucial to explain to trap Rihs, Lelangue and others. Again, don't hear him protesting about the TdF win as clean.

http://sports.espn.go.com/oly/cycling/news/story?id=5203604

As for his own positive test, Landis still maintains that result was inaccurate and that he had not used synthetic testosterone during the 2006 season -- although he now admits he used human growth hormone during that time. At this point, he said he does not want to dwell on any of the issues he and his lawyers hammered at during his case.


"There must be some other explanation, whether it was done wrong or I don't know what," he said. "You can try to write it however you want -- the problem I have with even bothering to argue it is [that] I have used testosterone in the past and I have used it in other Tours, and it's going to sound kind of foolish to say I didn't."

 

[titan_90]

Anyone who is interested in this subject:
The next time you get some quiet time, read this entire article.

Very good read.

 

[Colm.Murphy]

http://sports.espn.go.com/oly/cycling/news/story?id=5203604

As for his own positive test, Landis still maintains that result was inaccurate and that he had not used synthetic testosterone during the 2006 season -- although he now admits he used human growth hormone during that time. At this point, he said he does not want to dwell on any of the issues he and his lawyers hammered at during his case.


"There must be some other explanation, whether it was done wrong or I don't know what," he said. "You can try to write it however you want -- the problem I have with even bothering to argue it is [that] I have used testosterone in the past and I have used it in other Tours, and it's going to sound kind of foolish to say I didn't."

Well, there it is. Used it in other Tours, knows it sounds foolish, does not even want to bother arguing it.

Also, a ringing bell that hGH does indeed work, contrary to the ADA's saying the opposite.

 

[Ninety5rpm]

Well, there it is. Used it in other Tours, knows it sounds foolish, does not even want to bother arguing it.

Also, a ringing bell that hGH does indeed work, contrary to the ADA's saying the opposite.

If he admitted to lucky underwear would that be evidence that wearing lucky underwear does indeed work?

To be clear, I would not be surprised if HGH did work. But bike racers are notorious for relying on completely stupid superstitions to improve their outcomes, so a bike racer relying on something is not evidence of that something actually working, beyond the placebo effect which should not be underestimated.

 

[tubularglue]

Can the FDA keep people from leaving the country?

 

[Anonymous]

Can the FDA keep people from leaving the country?

Apparently not.. i asked this yesterday and everyone said no, which is a real shame.. I dreamt last night that LA got arrested at the airport trying to leave

 

[RTMcFadden]

Can the FDA keep people from leaving the country?

They're Federal Officers and have the power to detain and arrest. Although they usually enlist the services of the Federal Marshalls. There was a group, affectionately known as Kessler's Goon Squad, that were armed and used during the Generic Drug Scandal in the early to mid 90's.

 

[theswordsman]

Apparently not.. i asked this yesterday and everyone said no, which is a real shame.. I dreamt last night that LA got arrested at the airport trying to leave

I read earlier today that he didn't leave. His lawyer said that the injury under his eye was giving him problems. He said he might need surgery on that. Phil Liggett said Sunday that Lance had gotten 7 stitches on the team bus, but didn't specify if it was the eye or the arm.

Armstrong is still in the US, Team RadioShack spokesman Philippe Maertens told Cyclingnews Monday afternoon.

It has been rumoured that the seven-time Tour de France winner will next ride the Tour of Luxembourg in early June. “There is a good chance that he will do Luxembourg,” Maertens said. “It will be decided next week.”

Now, however, the cut near his eye is causing worries. His attorney Bill Stapleton told the USA Today newspaper that the injury was more serious than originally thought.

"His (left) eye looks pretty bad, the cut goes from the bottom of his eyelid to his nose. He may have to see the surgeon again before he leaves for next week's Tour of Luxembourg, “ Armstrong said.

Maertens told Cyclingnews that he had no new information on the cheek injury.

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/armstrongs-pre-tour-plans-still-up-in-the-air

 

[Moose McKnuckles]

Phil Liggett said Sunday that Lance had gotten 7 stitches on the team bus, but didn't specify if it was the eye or the arm.

Neither. It was straight on the bum. Now it says "Property of Floyd Landis".

 

[theswordsman]

Q: Implicit in all of this material is the fact that you did use performance-enhancing drugs throughout your career, at least starting with this chronology in 2002 and going through 2006.

A: Yes, correct.

Q: That would mean you also used them during 2006 Tour de France, or in training for it at least?

A: Yes ... I mean, I could sit and talk to you for hours about what I did or didn't do on any given day, but yes, I used them in every Tour de France I ever did.

Q: Were you in fact guilty of using synthetic testosterone during the 2006 Tour de France?

A: No, I was not guilty of that. But at this point, honestly, I don't even care to state it ... I don't even debate it anymore. It's insignificant in my point of view.

I personally performed a blood transfusion on Levi [Leipheimer] in a Tour [2005] where he beat me. It didn't feel like cheating to me.

http://sports.espn.go.com/oly/cycling/columns/story?columnist=ford_bonnie_d&id=5215959

 

[Cal_Joe]

I read earlier today that he didn't leave. His lawyer said that the injury under his eye was giving him problems. He said he might need surgery on that. Phil Liggett said Sunday that Lance had gotten 7 stitches on the team bus, but didn't specify if it was the eye or the arm.

Armstrong is still in the US, Team RadioShack spokesman Philippe Maertens told Cyclingnews Monday afternoon.



http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/armstrongs-pre-tour-plans-still-up-in-the-air

LA is on his way to Europe at this time. See the tweet.

 

[BikeCentric]

http://sports.espn.go.com/oly/cycling/columns/story?columnist=ford_bonnie_d&id=5215959

This is huge. Huge. He's really got the diaries with notations whenever certain drugs or transfusions were used. This really is going to change the sport. Who would have thought it would be Landis that would trigger all this, LOL!

 

[theswordsman]

This is huge. Huge. He's really got the diaries with notations whenever certain drugs or transfusions were used. This really is going to change the sport. Who would have thought it would be Landis that would trigger all this, LOL!

He's also got training plans from Ferrari using a complex code to tell him what to do, so if any of those exist for other riders, there might be a code breaker.

 

[Tyler'sTwin]

He's also got training plans from Ferrari using a complex code to tell him what to do, so if any of those exist for other riders, there might be a code breaker.

This is huge. Huge. He's really got the diaries with notations whenever certain drugs or transfusions were used. This really is going to change the sport. Who would have thought it would be Landis that would trigger all this, LOL!

I'm not sure that sort of stuff should be made public...

 

[theswordsman]

LA is on his way to Europe at this time. See the tweet.

Thanks.

I signed up for twitter the day Doug Uhlmann convinced Lance to do it, and mentioned it in his blog. I think I was follower #120. I stopped following the day his media boycott started at the Giro. There's no way I'm following again, just to watch his smoke screen. But I'm glad a couple of million people will know his whereabouts. I'll bet Pierre Bordry is reading.

Edit: to save others a trip

@LanceArmstrong
Gr8 dinner at 41k ft w/ @annahansen, @maxarmstrong1, @johanbruyneel, @knollio, and richie.

Departing for somewhwere remote in Europe

He's got Bruyneel and is "Richie" the soigneur? This could be interesting. What do you think, South America? Some island without extradition?