Thursday, July 27, 2006

Oh no! Not Floyd!

Breaking news: Floyd Landis has failed a drug test after his sample showed "an unusual level of testosterone/epitestosterone" after his kick-ass performance in stage 17 of the Tour de France. He has been suspended but has requested additional testing of his backup specimen in the hopes of being able to prove that the abnormal results were either caused by natural processes or a mistake.

It's been reported that Landis was pissed off about his poor showing in stage 16, which caused him to lose the yellow jersey and slip into 11th place, and that anger fueled his awesome comeback the next day. Could anger and exertion have caused a rise in testosterone large enough to be detected? I have no idea, but I have to admit that I will feel betrayed if these doping allegations are true. I watch the Tour to marvel at the feats of strength and endurance that human beings are able to accomplish through dedication and determination, not to see the perversion of medical technology and bunch of bike-riding cheaters.

I have my fingers crossed wishing that Landis will be vindicated, but if he's not I hope they throw the book at him.

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