Tour de France champion Doping?

[Iceaxe]

Hot off the AP wire......

Team says Landis tested positive for high levels of testosterone

By STEPHEN WILSON, AP Sports Writer
July 27, 2006

LONDON (AP) -- Tour de France champion Floyd Landis tested positive for high levels of testosterone during the race, his Phonak team said Thursday on its Web site.

The statement came a day after the UCI, cycling's world governing body, said an unidentified rider had failed a drug test during the Tour.

And the statement came just four days after Landis stood on the victory podium on the Champs-Elysees, succeeding seven-time winner Lance Armstrong as an American winner in Paris.

The Swiss-based Phonak team said it was notified by the UCI on Wednesday that Landis' sample showed "an unusual level of testosterone/epitestosterone" when he was tested after stage 17 of the race last Thursday.

Landis made a remarkable comeback in that Alpine stage, racing far ahead of the field for a solo win that moved him from 11th to third in the overall standings. He regained the leader's yellow jersey two days later.

Landis rode the Tour with a degenerative hip condition that he has said will require surgery in the coming weeks or months.

Arlene Landis, his mother, said Thursday that she wouldn't blame her son if he was taking medication to treat the pain in his injured hip, but "if it's something worse than that, then he doesn't deserve to win."

"I didn't talk to him since that hit the fan, but I'm keeping things even keel until I know what the facts are," she said in a phone interview from her home in Farmersville, Pa. "I know that this is a temptation to every rider but I'm not going to jump to conclusions ... It disappoints me."

Phonak said Landis would ask for an analysis of his backup "B" sample "to prove either that this result is coming from a natural process or that this is resulting from a mistake."

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

Landis has been suspended by his team pending the results. If the second sample confirms the initial finding, he will be fired from the team, Phonak said.

USA Cycling spokesman Andy Lee said that organization could not comment on Landis.

"Because it's an anti-doping matter, it's USA Cycling's policy not to comment on that subject out of respect for the process and Floyd's rights," Lee said. "Right now, we have to let the process proceed and we can't comment on it."

Landis wrapped up his Tour de France win on Sunday, keeping the title in U.S. hands for the eighth straight year. Armstrong, long dogged by doping whispers and allegations, won the previous seven. Armstrong never has tested positive for drugs and vehemently has denied doping.

Speculation that Landis had tested positive spread earlier Thursday after he failed to show up for a one-day race in Denmark on Thursday. A day earlier, he missed a scheduled event in the Netherlands.

On the eve of the Tour's start, nine riders -- including pre-race favorites Jan Ullrich and Ivan Basso -- were ousted, implicated in a Spanish doping investigation.

The names of Ullrich and Basso turned up on a list of 56 cyclists who allegedly had contact with Spanish doctor Eufemiano Fuentes, who's at the center of the Spanish doping probe.

[PunchKing]

Landis the "great white hype" would never have done this if he thought he would get caught. Let us hope this turns out to be a mistake and avoid the black eye this could give american cyclists. BTW, you can never trust a man who rides the skinny tires there is something wrong with someone who enjoys long rides on the hot semen(t). Probably Lance Bass' boyfriend.

[Iceaxe]

Armstrong To Race Tour de France Next Year With Two Broken Hips

AUSTIN, TX--Lance Armstrong announced yesterday that he is coming out of retirement next year to run the Tour de France one more time. This time, however, he will do it with two broken hips, in an attempt to overshadow Floyd Landis, who won the race this year with only one badly damaged hip.

Armstrong will have his hips broken by a doctor one month before the race and will have to endure excruciating pain in order to accomplish his goal.

"I will be racing next year, and I will be doing it with not one, but two broken hips," Armstrong said at a press conference yesterday. "Floyd Landis did a wonderful job this year racing with one bad hip and that just inspired me to take it a step further. I won't even be able to stand up on my own. It hurts just thinking about it. Ow! I'm okay, I'm okay. Anyway, who were we talking about? Oh, Floyd Landis. Hey Floyd, congrats on winning your one Tour de France. Call me when you nail Sheryl Crow and host the ESPYs."

Last year, after winning his record seventh Tour de France, Armstrong said he would never race again, but the sight of Landis overcoming a physical disability both infuriated and inspired Armstrong. Now he realizes he isn't ready to relinquish the spotlight just yet.

"When I announced my retirement, I never realized that somebody would step in and take my place so quickly," he said. "The guy did it with a seriously damaged hip, too. What the ****? If I didn't know any better I'd think winning the Tour de France was actually pretty easy. It can't be, though, because those European racers can barely even cross the finish line. Last year I had to carry one on my back for the final 8 miles. He was pretty grateful. He came in second place."

Landis was a member of the US Postal Service team from 2002-04, but left because of a contract dispute, and ended up signing with the Swiss Phonak squad. There have been rumors about some tension between the he and Armstrong, but both riders say they

[Angel]

I'm just gonna say it: It's a bicycle race. There's no need for being competitive. At the end, there's always a enough DQ burgers and shakes for everyone.

[Sombeech]

Armstrong will have his hips broken by a doctor one month before the race and will have to endure excruciating pain in order to accomplish his goal.

Is this for real? If it is, I've lost my respect for him. Overcoming cancer and winning the tour de france isn't good enough. He's got to make sure NOBODY else ever gets mentioned for feats of strength.

[derstuka]

Armstrong will have his hips broken by a doctor one month before the race and will have to endure excruciating pain in order to accomplish his goal.

Is this for real? If it is, I've lost my respect for him. Overcoming cancer and winning the tour de france isn't good enough. He's got to make sure NOBODY else ever gets mentioned for feats of strength.

Yeah, if you believe that Lance said that, then I have a bridge to sell ya!

[DickHead]

Armstrong will have his hips broken by a doctor one month before the race and will have to endure excruciating pain in order to accomplish his goal.

Is this for real? If it is, I've lost my respect for him. Overcoming cancer and winning the tour de france isn't good enough. He's got to make sure NOBODY else ever gets mentioned for feats of strength.

Was there mercury in them Wind rivers fish or somethin?

[rockgremlin]

Armstrong will have his hips broken by a doctor one month before the race and will have to endure excruciating pain in order to accomplish his goal.

Is this for real? If it is, I've lost my respect for him. Overcoming cancer and winning the tour de france isn't good enough. He's got to make sure NOBODY else ever gets mentioned for feats of strength.

Dude.....

You need to go take a look at The Onion's website: http://www.theonion.com/content/index

At first, I thought it was an article from The Onion, but I couldn't find it. Very funny article, and very "Onion-esque."

[Sombeech]

wow, looks like I'm taking a lot of crap on this one. I just asked if it was for real. It looks like it was right out of an article.

It wouldn't surprise me if somebody wanted to go to such great lengths for fame though. So I questioned it, and everybody's all over me.

[Iceaxe]

How to remove hook.....



If you do much fishing, sooner or later you're apt to hook something other than a fish - like your hand, back or Sombeech. Learn the right way to remove a hook to reduce pain and limit damage to your skin.


Steps:
1. Put ice or cold water on area to numb it.

2. Wiggle the hook gently. If the hook point is in just past the barb, and the hook moves easily without causing pain or bleeding, push the fishhook forward until the barbed end comes out of the skin.

3. Cut off barbed end.

4. Pull the rest of the hook back out through the original hole.

5. Clean wound with soap and water, and betadine if available.

6. Apply bandage if the wound is bleeding.

Tips:
Treat wounds from fishhooks as puncture wounds. See a doctor if the wound appears to be getting infected.

Emergency rooms often remove fishhooks with a 2-foot piece of strong monofilament line. Double the line, loop it around the embedded hook and back to the bend of the hook. Push down the hook eye with your thumb or forefinger, pressing down firmly on the eye of the hook so that the hook stands arched upward. Firmly grip the monofilament and yank. The hook usually flies right out.

[rockgremlin]

wow, looks like I'm taking a lot of crap on this one. I just asked if it was for real. It looks like it was right out of an article.

It wouldn't surprise me if somebody wanted to go to such great lengths for fame though. So I questioned it, and everybody's all over me.

Awwwwww......you're a big boy, you can handle it!

[derstuka]

wow, looks like I'm taking a lot of crap on this one. I just asked if it was for real. It looks like it was right out of an article.

It wouldn't surprise me if somebody wanted to go to such great lengths for fame though. So I questioned it, and everybody's all over me.

C'mon Sombeech...quit blowing stuff out your arse!

You can't lose faith in ole Lancie boy that easily!