Quote Originally Posted by Delta7
Results seem inconsistent, if the T is normal. What would cause the low E? Is the actual test result published or do we have to rely on the news?
The ratio of T/E is considered more reliable than the actual T level as an indication of doping, since the absolute amount of testosterone in his urine can be influenced by the amount of liquid he drinks, but no matter how hard he tries to dilute it out, he can't change the ratio of testsosterone to epitestosterone. The ratio test is based on the fact that since epitestosterone is the precurser of testosterone, if the testosterone is naturally made in the body, this should be balanced by a similar amount of epitestosterone, for most people this ratio is 1:1, UCI allows up to 4:1 and his was 11:1. When one supplements with testosterone, the amount of testosterone relative to epitestosterone is elevated, although some avoid detection by also taking epitestosterone along with testosterone. Now it is true that some people have abnormally high T/E ratios naturally, but supposedly his other 5 samples tested at the tour showed normal ratios. It is true that alcohol consumption can effect the ratio, but why did first he claim to have had one beer, then all of a sudden he also had some Jack D, etc. (it takes a lot of alcohol to elevate the TE ratio). But, because of these issues if all they had was the elevated T/E ratio it may have been difficult to make a definitive case. But, the mass spec allows them to detect subtle differences in the isotope of carbon found in plant sterols vs human sterols. Since plant sterols are used to make testosterone in the lab, the finding of carbon isotopes in a ratio found in plants and not people is very convincing.

What bothers me now, is his lawers are making their arguments on lack of due process (leaking results to the press) vs whether he actually did it (i.e. see latest articles at velonews.com), and seem to be trying to salvage his reputation by putting questions that aren't there about the science in the minds of a public that doesn't understand the science.