Testosterone

[mimitabby]

In all the stories I've read on the subject, not one has raised this question, and has me wondering....

Day 1 - Floyd is extremely dehydrated and bonks.
Day 2 - Makes incredible comeback and takes the stage

Is it possible that the dehydration and the the cumulative effects of the brutally hard riding over 23 days actually depleted the epitestosterone stores, thus increasing the Testosterone ratio?

Everyone is looking for the "added substance" but maybe the key here is what's been expended, or depleted that altered the ratio. And if that's the case, do we see this trend in other atheletes - marathoners for example?

Inquiring minds want to know.

Withim i am with you here. But that leads me to another question;
If he was extremely dehydrated, why was he drinking beer?! and later whiskey? I thought i understood that drinking Alcohol makes you even more dehydrated...
We're talking about the chance of a lifetime here, and he's drinking alcoholic beverages? true, he thought he had lost the chance.. but it still kind of surprises me that he wasn't drinking "sports drinks" that night!

[Bike Goddess]

I also wondered why he was drinking. Absolutely, alcohol dehydrates you, no question about that. I still wonder why any cyclist would go for a beer after a long ride. Seems counterproductive to me!

And Landis...had some HARD liquor to boot! Only thing I can figure out is that he must have really drunk a lot of liquids after that failed stage AND also the morning of his recovery ride. We know he used up some 70 water bottles and some of that went in his body, not just over his head!

Well, I do hope for the best. I do believe him more than I believe the media. He's no fool. I just don't think he would do it as he knows as does everyone else, testing happens. Even if he hadn't won that stage he could have been tested.

[Cindyloo]

From what I read the rules state that the ratio can not be more that 4:1 and Floyd's was 11:1 so it wasn't like it was a close call I guess. The isotope tests also showed that he had synthetic testosterone in his body which would not have been made by him.

Here is the article that I read:

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/31/sp...rtner=homepage

[mimitabby]

wow, the last paragraph of that article!

“The rules say that it is a violation, but if you can show that the athlete had no fault or no significant fault, there could be a mitigation of the sanction,” he said. “No matter how it got there, the athlete has to show how it got into his or her body. It could have been sabotage or contaminated dietary supplements, or something else, but they have to prove how the testosterone got there.”

[Triskeliongirl]

In view of the recent developments reported in the NY times, and in velonews, I predict that Floyd will be stripped of his title by weeks end. Its a damn shame he was that stupid...............

[alpinerabbit]

You know, he had nothing to lose. Perhaps it was a gamble.

He screwed up the stage. With his hip surgery coming up he's not sure if he could come back again. If they caught him, too bad, if they didn't, cool.

[Triskeliongirl]

Yeh, but he did have a lot to lose, his reputation. I would have respected him more for finishing at any place with his bum hip than finishing and then being found out as a cheat. He knows the tests they do. He knows the stage winner and yellow jersey are tested. Yeh, its a gamble to be the other 'random guy', but not the stage winner............. But, then maybe it was the testosterone talking. Maybe he was supposed to re-claim a bunch of time, but not actually win the stage....... I rememeber them saying something was wrong with his earpiece as he was fiddling with it at the end of the stage. Maybe he ripped it out to stop the shouts of his advisors to keep from winning the stage. If the mass spec analysis confirms there is exogenous testosterone in his B sample then I will be glad he is caught. Yeh, I know some of you wil slam me cuz we don't have the results of the B sample, but even the Landis camp has been warning us to expect no difference. As a professor of biochemistry, I believe the mass spec results, so short of sample tampering which doesn't seem to concern Landis, mass spec doesn't lie. I am really upset about this because Floyd was my hero. I too have a bum hip from a cycling accident. I too am hypothyroid. I know how these things slow me down relative to 'normal' cyclists, or how much pain I need to put up with to not have them slow me down. But seeing Floyd win that stage and win that tour was so inspiring. Seeing the power of the human spirit to overcome adversity is inspiring to anyone. Now we have to face the reality that no, it was simply greed (remember that 2.5 million dollar bonus from phonak) and arrogance (that he was above getting caught) that let him bring down not only himself, but the sport we love. But, maybe we can't blame Floyd. Maybe it just is what cycling has turned into. Maybe its the only way to win in a climate where everyone cheats, and maybe this will be the last straw that allows the formulation of new policies that truly clean up the sport.