Landis Facing Uphill Battle on Doping Charges
Floyd Landis continues to deny doping during the Tour de France. But his effort to clear his name appears increasingly difficult. His doctor has said he did have an abnormally high level of testosterone in his body. A secondary test is being conducted by cycling officials to determine whether an initial positive result was accurate.
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This is MORNING EDITION from NPR News. I'm Don Gonyea.
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NPR's Tom Goldman reports.
TOM GOLDMAN: Here's what he said in an interview with NPR.
FLOYD LANDIS: They say that the ratio is out of line, but there's no indication that there's anything unnatural in my body at this time.
GOLDMAN: The test, called a carbon isotope ratio test, can distinguish naturally produced from artificial testosterone. Dr. Christiane Ayotte, runs one of the world's top anti-doping labs in Montreal. Hers is not the lab that did the tests on Floyd Landis, but Dr. Ayotte has used the carbon isotope test since the late 1990s. She says it's been quite reliable in the cases she's worked on.
CHRISTIANE AYOTTE: It has been giving us the last evidence, and the conclusive evidence, that we needed to, let's say, be comfortable with our findings.
GOLDMAN: Floyd Landis has been silent since the New York Times report came out. Late Wednesday, his lawyer, Howard Jacobs, acknowledged he'd received a written statement that the carbon isotope test showed the presence of synthetic testosterone. But it was a written statement, said Jacobs, with no data.
HOWARD JACOBS: There's no documentation that's been provided to Floyd or to myself supporting that allegation. They've made the allegation, certainly, both to the New York Times and in paperwork provided, that the carbon isotope test was positive, but they don't provide the documents that show that. None of them.
GOLDMAN: Tom Goldman, NPR News.
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