Quote:
|
Originally Posted by HomerSimpson
How do they explain his other negative tests? He tested negative for steroids the stage before and the stage after. That would mean we are talking about a synthetic testosterone that clears the body in under 48 hours!!!
I wonder how many Profesional Athletes are paying attention to this quick turnaround? Shoot up on Sunday and test clean on Tuesday. Unlike the Olympics or Cycling most American Sports do not test their players immediately after the game.
|
It isn't really a quick turn around that caused this phenomenon. The battery of tests after a stage, includes a test that detects the ratio of testosterone to epitestosterone in a cyclist's blood. That is the initial test that Landis failed. That battery of tests doesn't test for natural versus synthetic testosterone. The second test detects synthetic hormones. The initial T/E ratio test essentially detected that Floyd had used some sort of masking agent to depress the amount of testosterone registering on the test. They followed up and discovered why he needed the masking agent.
In other words it wasn't that the tests before and after were clean, it was that the masking agents worked properly, so the tests weren't followed up on to detect synthetic testosterone. I'm thinking they will, now that these tests came in positive, but I'm not certain.
I guess it is possible that Floyd was clean up until the stage he tested positive for. In fact, I'm sort of hoping that he knew he needed to do something spectacular, and made a desperate decision. That is the only way he can come away from this with any sort of dignity remaining, well that and if he comes clean with that story.
This really does change my opinion about the whole "testing" issue. I'm coming around to QS's position, that it is somewhat folly to believe that the tests are genuinely effective.