A lead story on many sports news programmes this morning [a conspiracy theory in itself there…] is Floyd Landis and his anger at the way that the test and subsequent announcements were made. Following his B sample results he has been sacked by Phonak and will be stripped of his Tour de France victory. There’s a report on the BBC website, which follows on from an interview on ABC’s Good Morning America with Landis… and he’s certainly come out fighting:

“I’ve come out in the press and tried to explain these test results, but I think that was a mistake, I was forced into this situation because of leaks from the UCI (International Cycling Union).” said Landis.

Speaking later to the BBC Landis said he thought the the testing proceedure is ‘fatally flawed’ and that the process hadn’t been followed. Perhaps he’s now implying that everyone knew that it was his sample and that maybe he was now thinking that they are all out to get him? However the B sample test has been proved positive too and it’s highly unlikely that the laboratory and the scientists would cheat the test, why would they?

The change in tack would appear to be worrying for Landis and as he has already said the variety of reaction was in responce to the leaks of the test news from the UCI.

“All of these reasons that have come up, some from me, some from other people, we need to forget about them and let the experts figure out what’s going on,” he said to ABC’s Good Morning America

“The whisky idea was not mine and the dehydration was a theory from the lawyers I hired in Spain to represent me at the opening of the B sample. But I did not authorise them to say something like that so I’m disappointed with that.”

So why didn’t he speak out earlier, rather than just vanish? He said that he was “very, very tired”.

“I’d just finished a three-week race and this came as a complete shock to me. I was completely unprepared,” he added and concluded by saying:

“But I have a new goal, to prove myself innocent and figure out exactly what’s going on behind the scenes.”

So a pretty simple question would be: If you have a naturally occuring high testosterone ratio then why has this not been presented previously? There must be some evidence? The Thyroid issue and the drugs he’s been taking for that, could that be it? Show us the medical history and the previous test results – then perhaps the public would then start to believe these test results as naturally high levels [after all, they are there, so why?] and, perhaps, start to realise that there maybe something else happening behind the scenes. Whatever and whichever way you look at it, it’s a mess.

Expect this story to run and run…