meanwhile, cycling news reports:

But, much more important than this seems to be that the tests performed on Landis’ A sample included an Isotope Ratio Mass Spectrometry (IRMS) procedure, used to determine whether the testosterone is exogenous (contained within, but originating from outside the body) or endogenous (produced by the body itself). In the case of the American, L’Equipe reported that the analysis found testosterone of artificial origin. http://www.cyclingnews.com/news.php?id=news/2006/jul06/jul31news

oops! if that’s true, game over for poor floyd.

my only disagreement with frank’s legalize it theory is that it would mean athletes unwilling to put themselves at risk would probably never be competitive. that would be sad. but we are getting used to a lot of sad things in this brave new world.

i’m so depressed, i’m heading for the freezer.

So here it goes: I guess I’ve finally moved all the way into the legalize-it camp. Let’s just acknowledge that the future of sports is the 9 second 100 meter dash, the tour at 35 mph, the mile in close to three minutes. What will be lost will be any sense that the athletes performing these feats have any physiological denominators that mere humans can relate to but I’m tired of being the sucker. I’d much rather watch the sport, admire the efforts on an enhanced but level playing field, and then pour over the published drug regimens of each athlete the way I used to look at batting averages on the back of baseball cards.

And while we are at it: let’s legalize non-performance enhancing drugs too.

I agree: the Jack Daniels defense is about as good as Dan White’s Twinkie Defense. I’m not buying it.

And here’s another thought. Floyd has been tested how many dozen times this year? And last year? In competition and out of competition. And he signed a contract that subjected him to suspension if under investigation for doping. But neither he nor his handlers (or lawyers) ever thought to hire professionals to test him to set a baseline for his testosterone, hematocrit, and all other levels that matter in modern doping and testing?

I find it more than a little naive–almost shocking, but not quite–that a guy who pees in a cup after every race can say “I think I have a higher than normal testosterone level,” or “I’m taking some drugs that might interact with other drugs and cause a false positive.” Might?

I remember listening to a French cycling fan argue in 1989 (pretty convincingly, as I recall) that Laurent Fignon was not a bike shop mechanic. That he didn’t care a damn about aerodynamics; he just got on whatever bike you gave hime and rode his heart out. He trained in the Alpes, not in the wind tunnel. My point is that that speech would have fallen flat in 1990 or thereafter. After some point you are just being naive and behind the times.

That’s how I feel about Floyd now. A few years ago I might have just believed Floyd. Now, after all that’s gone on with Armstrong and others, I think it’s up to Floyd to know what the truth is about his body, and to be able to tell us. Naive just isn’t an option. I like the Landis back-story–easygoing guy from Mennonite Pennsylvania, etc.–but it’s not going to help him through this crisis. My gut feeling is that he’s guilty and he’s cooked.

Frank’s right that Lance did not get loved by the peloton for his iron rule. Floyd won on the kind of guts that makes people love you–hell, he’s just one of the guys who happened to take a risk that paid off. Good for him!

This was a great tour. Anyone who is downgrading Floyd’s victory because the putative favorites were not present should be made to ride El Tour de Tucson in tight denim shorts. Rule number one is the John Allis Rule: you race the race you are in. Floyd won. Frank is also right that the same putative favorites may be absent for sometime. Ullrich: game over. Basso: let’s hope there was a mistake there; he’s the only rider that seems to have some possible excuse. Tyler Hamilton: lifetime suspension for that lying sack of s&%*t.

Discovery needs to find a team leader, and they will probably need to import one. I’m not as sanguine about Popo as Frank is, but it’s still early. In any event, the team will need to be seriously re-jigged in order to be competitive. I don’t think it’s realistic for George to ride his guts out for someone other than Lance; the spark won’t be there. Great teams just can’t change leaders. Look at Renault in the 80s, then La Vie Claire, and Toshiba. You think you should be able to slot in the new leader to the old machine, but it never quite works.

As for Levi, well, he finished with something still in the tank, which proves he’s a complete loser. Deep down, I believe he’s saving it to defend his title at the Tour of Germany. I shouldn’t be so bitter: that’s his level of racing, and I hope he wins again. George Hincapie is a classics rider; there’s no shame in that. Zabriskie is a huge talent with a bright future. He did much better in the hills this year and could certainly develop into an all-rounder.

As for Floyd, he’s the anti-Lance. He did as much for cycling this year by throwing out the Lance rule book as Lance did by writing it. I wish him luck in his hip operation, and I hope he comes back next year and that–at least for a while–we see the kind of parity in the peloton that makes for unpredictable, exciting racing. There will be another patron soon enough, but I hope not too soon.

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