Doping - Floyd's B Samples Non-negative

Apparently there are reports that Floyd's B samples were positive for exogenous testosterone (i.e. testosterone from the outside). Although a Floyd representative was denied access to the test, this doesn't bode well for the Mennonite's recent heavy duty "Run for President" PR campaign.

Although I like Floyd, seeing such evidence is hard to turn away. It's like Ullrich trying to deny that having his blood (based on DNA tests) at the Fuentes lab doesn't mean he doped. It's ridiculous. For what other reason would Ullrich give liters of blood to a doctor in Spain?

Yet Ullrich, at least in Spain, is safe. There is nothing wrong with doping as long as the dopee is unhurt. Germany, Switzerland, they're different, and what will happen remains to be seen.

In the same vein, Landis seems to be headed for trouble in one way, perhaps redemption in another. Never mind that there might be some room for protest. The B sample tests, although damning if accurate, don't provide any grounds for suspension. First off, tests for exogenous testosterone are supposed to happen only after a T:E ratio failure. (Note that doing a carbon isotope test to begin with skips that step.) And technically a positive (for exo testo) A sample means there's a "non-negative". The B sample is simply to confirm the A sample's findings and escalates the "non-negative" to a "positive". Without the A sample non-negative, the B sample tests are just fluff to fill some news sites, editorials, and blogs.

So as a blog type person I'm just using this rich, dark material for a post (can you tell I did some composting recently?).

What it boils down to is this: the whole debate on if Floyd doped based on the B sample tests is simply theoretical. The tests on the Stage 17 A sample and the follow up test on the B sample are critical and that's what has to be examined. If those tests are accurate and without fault, Floyd loses his 2006 Tour title. If the tests results are flawed, Floyd remains the 2006 Tour winner, regardless of what his other B samples show.

And although it seems the lab in France is trying its hardest to sway public opinion against Floyd (rather than in the lab's favor - the whole "if you can't prove you're good, prove the other guy is bad" philosophy), this doesn't change the protocols followed during the Stage 17 A and B tests nor the apparent procedure violations in those tests.

Floyd's situation reminds me of something I read in the paper a while ago. There was a DWI case in a nearby town. A police officer observed a car (an Audi A4 if I recall correctly) driving erratically. The officer put on his lights and pulled the car over. The driver was so inebriated that when he turned to the officer to ask what was happening, he vomited on the officer.

Now, for me, at first glance, that would be enough to pull the guy out of the car and arrest him. They did some sobriety test and the driver was pretty much unable to do anything right. His blood alcohol content (BAC) was something phenomenal. More ammunition against the driver - he didn't have a 24 hour flu or some other thing that would cause him to vomit, sway when standing, and peg the BAC meters.

Yet the court dropped all charges against the driver. Apparently the officer, in a vomit-covered distracted moment, forgot to check a particular box on his official report. Because the box was left unchecked, all other evidence against the driver became invalid.

And the driver went free.

After I read the article the first thing I thought of was, "Man I want to go toilet paper that guy's house."

But I didn't. Because the court was right. The letter of the law has to be followed even if the principle was broken. Otherwise we end up living in something like a Hussein world where rules are so ephemeral they might as well not exist.

And although there might be a lot of people convinced of Floyd's guilt, it's really up to the lab to prove that they followed all procedures correctly when they tested Floyd's Stage 17 samples.

The rest of it is just fodder for discussion.

California - Day Three - heartrates, parts bling, doping

Today was nothing special - a two hour ride which ended up about 2:15. My legs were a bit fatigued - not noticeable until 10 or 20 seconds into any efforts (I only made a couple). Good things were that I have no saddle issues, no sore or tender tendons, and no muscle problems (cramps or extreme soreness). My stomach though, still touchy. I guess this happens when I ride a lot.

I spent a bit of time in the small ring today. The contrast in efforts is apparent if I lay out some stats:
1. In Florida, my average heart rate was usually 135 bpm. On the longest ride I did a lot of work - the average was 141 or so.
2. My average yesterday, for the first three hours, was 151. For the whole ride, 147. A killer ride for me.
3. Today I went 120.

After the ride, and during dinner, my friend and I chatted about bikes, frames, etc. We talked about the new Ultra Torque Campy cranks - and how I couldn't justify the $550 or $600 to get them. We discussed the new super light frames - sub 900 grams, which makes them about a pound lighter than my reasonably light carbon frame. But they cost something like $3000. My perceived value of a bike is about $2500 so that frame is just way out of my league.

One of the big news items in the cycling world is that Floyd has denied permission for his B samples to be tested for exogenous testosterone. That just doesn't seem right - if he was clean, he'd allow the samples to be tested (it was the US anti doping association that asked to test, not the French one, so they'd probably have the samples tested in a more secure lab).

I've always thought they should skip the test:epi ratio test since it's vulnerable to a number of masking strategies. But (and I'm guessing here) it's probably more expensive. It seems more involved from what I've read. So basically the Feds (federations) let racers get away with exogenous testosterone as long as they can control the test:epi ratio. It's sort of like marking where your speed traps are situated - if you're dumb enough to speed there, you'll get caught. But you can go as fast as you want between them.

In other news, I got an email from from the website from which I downloaded the "LA Confidential" translation pdf (which, incidentally, I still don't know if it's really the translation). They have EPO on sale - 300,000 IU for $1600, delivered to your door, next day, guaranteed delivery, in easy to use styrettes (sp?). They even explain how to use said needle devices. I'm not sure how long 300,000 IU's lasts but I think it's a while - like 150 days at 2000 IU microdoses.

Interesting, isn't it? It costs less than a nice frame for a year of stronger riding.

No wonder there's so much doping going on.

Anyway, tomorrow is a group ride, if the weather is reasonable.