Say it ain't so...

I am horrified, hurt, devestated by the current implication of Floyd doping in this year's tour. Really bums this cyclist out.
Maybe I should switch to watching baseball.

In my daze, I have looked around online for more info, here is one thing I found from Lindsey Tanner, AP Medical Writer:

"Testosterone creams, pills and injections can build muscle and strength and improve recovery time after exertion when used over a period of several weeks, Wadler said. But if Landis had been a user, his earlier urine tests during the tour would have been affected, too, Wadler said, and Thursday's was the first reported abnormal result.

One-time use of steroids could result in an abnormal test, but it would have no effect on performance and could not account for Landis' astounding feat Thursday. "So something's missing here," Wadler said. "It just doesn't add up."

Alcohol can influence testosterone-epitestosterone levels, but more often in women than in men and it would be unlikely to have a huge effect, Wadler said.

Some men have naturally occurring high levels of testosterone and/or epitestosterone, but there is a sophisticated lab test called a carbon isotope ratio test that is often used to detect synthetic forms.

Landis said in an interview during the Tour de France that he has had injections of cortisone, a medically used steroid drug to treat pain from a degenerating arthritic hip, but doctors said that would not affect his test results".


More on Testosterone from Cycling News:

"...German doctor Kurt Moosburger, who has looked after Jörg Jaksche (among others) for the past two years, has told dpa that he believes that performance enhancing drugs are "indispensable" for high level cycling

In a frank interview, Moosburger pointed to the average speeds of modern professional races, especially hard tours. "The average in last year's Tour was 41 kilometres per hour - that is incredible. You can do a hard Alpine stage without doping. But after that, the muscles are exhausted. You need - depending on your training conditions - up to three days in order to regenerate."

To help recover, testosterone and human growth hormone can be used. "Both are made by the body and are therefore natural substances," he said. "They help to build muscle as well as in muscle recovery."

Dr Moosburger explained how it was done. "You put a standard testosterone patch that is used for male hormone replacement therapy on your scrotum and leave it there for about six hours. The small dose is not sufficient to produce a positive urine result in the doping test, but the body actually recovers faster."

Read more here: Cycling News

and here: More from Cycling News

Guess we will have to wait and see...

Hip to be Square

No not the Huey Lewis song, I'm talking about my Tour favorite Floyd Landis!

Check this quote I swiped from Bicycle Retailer:

"He says it makes him tough."
-Denise Demir, doctor for Team Phonak, on why Floyd Landis refuses to take pain medication for his injured hip.

Makes me want to re-consider exactly what I think tough is...

Poppa Wheelie!

Dope man, Dope man...

...hey man give me a hit-
Ice Cube, "Dope Man"






Damn! I never wanted to use an NWA song to describe the fiasco that is the pre-amble to this year's TDF. I was shocked to hear that so many players, including two that I have liked so much, Ulrich and Basso, booted from the race due to their connections to Fuentes and the whole doping affair. You know, my friends and I always speculate on who is and isn't doping, and yes that includes Mr. Armstrong, but it sure sucks when you really see how deep it is (again that includes Mr. Armstrong).

Consolation? Is there any really?

I guess I could say even if Lance was doping he was racing against a similarly juiced field and therefore was equal competition.
Another view is now we will see a more pure (yeah right) race...
And yet another (the one I am holding onto right now) is that my new favorite cyclist, Floyd Landis, could grab a win. Hell I would be happy if Levi or Georgie won too...

So for now I'll slap the ol' iPod headphones on, dial in the old NWA and the Posse album and turn up Dope Man to 11 and watch the tour...