"OK, so the B test proved positive for high T/E again, AND for synthetic testosterone. BUT:
1) Wasn't he tested like, 6 or 8 times - so wouldn't one of the other tests come up positive? Even after the stage 17? (I think testosterone have a half-life of 12 days?)
2) Couldn't they proactively test one of the other samples with the Carbon isotope test and show, ""hey, not only was the ratio ok, but we did an exogenous test and that came up negative/clean, too (in case he was using an epitestosteron masking agent.)
3) Could testosterone have an immediate impact?
4) Isn't this the lab that went on a witch hunt after Lance's '99 samples this year?
5) Doesn't it seem like someone tainted his stage 17 samples??
I remained unconvinced of his guilt, but I'm not sure if he's innocent, either.
"
Landis tested how many times?
Great list of unattractive truths, Matt. Let me stir the pot some more:
1) There is some evidence out there that Landis' T/E ratio was out of whack bcause the E was low and the T was normal. Low E can be caused by a long list of things, one of which is exogenous steroids.
2) E is created in the prostate. Sit on any gland or organ for a few hours and they too will produce less of anything they usually produce.
3) The spectrometer method that drug testing depends on uses a random sample from the urine. We all know how unreliable random samples are.
4) Why did the UCI deviate from their process of notification and leak the story? Maybe they know they're on shakey legal ground and want to build a strong public opinion to influence the particiapnts in the upcoming legal case.
People like to think that drug tests are black and white because it's simpler that way. But the rality, like so many other things, isn't so easy. Gang, don't be fooled by the media or the UCI - getting drugs out of this sport requires better testing - not more of the same old tests and a media frenzy.
Lawyers or testers? Landis' camp continues to provide misinformation and outright untruths. The tests are not as unreliable as they would like you to believe. The results of a T/E test are, however, subject to interpretation and there exists a protocol when a high T/E occurs, which has been followed.
Low E indicates exogenous T.
WADA guidelines require looking at other test results (of which Landis has many in the same time frame):
http://www.wada-ama.org/rtecontent/document/end_steroids_aug_04.pdf
You also should listen to John Eustis on ESPN (you can find video on ESPN.com).
