Cycling: Tour organisers shattered after Landis test

PARIS - Tour de France organisers said today they would be angry and sad if it was confirmed that 2006 winner Floyd Landis had tested positive for testosterone.

The rider's Phonak team said Landis had failed a test for the male sex hormone during the showpiece event, which the 30-year-old won on Sunday.

"If the counter-analysis (B sample) confirmed the first result, anger and sadness would be the dominant feelings for all those who had been thrilled by the 2006 Tour de France," race organisers said in a statement.

"Now more than ever the organisers will maintain the firm attitude they have displayed since the start from Strasbourg."

Pre-race favourites Jan Ullrich of Germany and Ivan Basso of Italy were among nine riders withdrawn before the start of the Tour after they were linked to a Spanish doping investigation.

"No matter how harrowing this news is for cycling, it nevertheless illustrates that the fight (against doping) by the Tour de France together with the teams and the sponsors is gaining ground in an irreversible way," the Tour statement added.

It is the first time in the Tour's history that the winner has given a positive drugs test during the race and if Landis' B sample confirms the result, the American is certain to be stripped of his victory.

Phonak said Landis would not ride until the matter had been clarified and if the B sample was positive, he would be dismissed.

"We will have to wait for the counter-analysis and see if this gives a positive as well," Phonak director Juan Fernandez told Spanish radio station Radio Marca.

"These types of things are really bad but if they happen we have to face up to them.

"If a rider does something wrong or bad he has to be dealt with. If the counter-analysis confirms the positive he must be punished. He will need to be expelled as has happened in other cases."

The chairman of the US Olympic Committee, Peter Ueberroth, said it would be an 'incredible disappointment' if Landis was found to have used banned substances.

"We must respect the due process rights that are afforded to every athlete who competes in a sport that adheres to the World Anti-Doping Code," Ueberroth said in a statement.

"With that said, if the B sample confirms the result of the A sample, and if Floyd Landis is ultimately found to be guilty of a doping offence, it would be an incredible disappointment.

"The bottom line is this: while good progress has been made in the fight against doping in sport, we believe that much more needs to be done. The severity of this problem is such that nothing short of a collective effort involving every segment of sport in our country -- from youth, to amateur, to professional and Olympic -- will be required in order to win this battle.

"Doping is cheating. It compromises the integrity of sport and the health and well-being of athletes; it undermines the Olympic ideals; and it sends the wrong message to society. As an organisation, we have taken a stand and made clear that if you participate in doping, you are not welcome on the United States Olympic Team," the statement read.

"The overwhelming majority of American athletes compete clean, and they deserve to know -- as does the American public -- that their team mates and competitors are also clean."

Meanwhile, Landis himself has reportedly denied taking any illegal substance.

Asked directly by American magazine Sports Illustrated if he had cheated, Landis replied: "No."

Landis says he "can't be hopeful" about the B test but hopes to prove he has naturally high levels of testosterone.

"I don't know what the explanation for it is, whether it was a mistake or whether it's an occurance from some other circumstances that go on in the race or something I did," he said.

"All I'm asking for is that I be given a chance to prove that I'm innocent. Cycling has a traditional way of trying people in the court of public opinion before they get a chance to do anything else.

"I wouldn't hold it against somebody if they don't believe me. I'm a realist," added Landis, who has been suspended by his team.

"I would like to be presumed innocent until proven guilty - since that's the way we do things in America."




- REUTERS