Landis B Sample - Some Real Issues?

[Michael Katz]

A guy in my bike club posted the following which, if accurate, raises some interesting and compelling issues. Anyone have some knowledge of the accuracy of what follows and if accurate, it's significance?

"There is a lot of information about the Landis case that that doesn't seem to have gotten much attention. Floyd Landis' defense is based upon a number of factors; however, it takes time to explain this defense. The media often boils things down to small sound-bites and complex issues aren't covered thoroughly.

Stories like "B Sample Tests Positive" and "Sample possibly mislabeled" are stories that everyone can understand quickly.

The bulk of Landis' defense goes well beyond what can be summarized in a headline.

I'll try to summarize the salient points here.

1. Various lab documentation show inconsistencies between the athlete identification number and the lab sample number. The article I referenced previously showed the Landis number as 994474 and the sample number as 995474.

2. Lab documentation had been altered in a way not in compliance with WADA rules. WADA rules state, "Any forensic corrections that need to be made to the comment should be done with a single line through and the
change should be initialed and dated by the individual making the change. No white out or erasure that obliterates the original entry is acceptable."

A lab document shows that someone crossed out entries which made the entries unreadable. The entries were rewritten with new information. Obviously, typographical errors can be made, but there are specific rules in place that allow corrections by following procedures.

3. Related to #2 above, an athlete id number was written, subsequently crossed out, and then re-entered. The newly entered number was Landis'. The original number written was unreadable. Perhaps the lab technician wrote it down wrong the first time, but in this case, they should have
followed proper procedure regarding corrections. Others would suggest that after a sample tested positive, a lab technician crossed out the doped rider's number and replaced it with Landis'.

4. The chain-of-custody document which details how the sample was handled is illegible. It raises questions as to the validity of the chain-of-custody.

5. The WADA has rules which prevent testing of contaminated specimens. A contaminated specimen may show a false-positive. A specimen is considered contaminated if the ratio of respective glucuroconjugates
exceeds 5%. This may indicate that the sample was mis-handled, wasn't properly stored, or was contaminated by other biological or chemical agents. Landis' sample showed a ratio of 7.7%. By the WADA rules, his specimen should have been discarded.

6. The lab has its own rules regarding repeatability of tests. If you were to step on a scale and it showed 150 lbs the first time and then you stepped on the scale and it showed 300 lbs the second time, you wouldn't trust the accuracy of the scale. If, however, the scale showed
similar weights both times you weighed yourself, you would have a higher confidence in that scale.

The lab's own rules state that consecutive tests of the same sample should show results that are within 30% of each other. Two consecutive tests of Landis' sample showed results that were 238% different from each other. In other words, the second test showed a result that was
two and a half times higher than the first result.

The inconsistency in the tests extended to the differences between the first sample and the second sample. Further, the inconsistencies were found in both the testosterone and the epi-testosterone tests.

7. Regarding the exogenous testosterone, Landis' sample didn't meet the criteria for a positive test. Without getting into the details, 4 metabolites or breakdown products need to be abnormal to show use of exogenous testosterone. Only 1 of the Landis' 4 breakdown products was abnormal.

8. The strongest indicator of exogenous testosterone use is the level of the 5BAdiol-5BPdiol. The Landis sample showed a low level indicating that exogenous testosterone was not used.

There's a real technical discussion of the testing for exogenous testosterone here:
http://www.dailypelotonforums.com/main/index.php?showtopic=1530&st=340

9. A relatively minor point is that lab technicians shouldn't know the identity of the sample they are testing. Landis' doping control form had text indicating that the sample had a therapeutic exemption for medication he was taking for his hip. This information should have been removed from the control form prior to being sent to the lab to keep his identity anonymous; however, the control form sent to the lab still had this information. Any lab technician reviewing the form would surely know they were testing Landis' sample.

The WADA has rules and protocols in place for a reason. A person's reputation and livelihood depend upon the accuracy of the tests and the strict adherence to protocols. Floyd Landis has already lost millions in potential endorsement deals and the doping cloud of suspicious will
forever hang over him."


-----Original Message-----
From: thelist-bounces@phillybikeclub.org
[mailto:thelist-bounces@phillybikeclub.org]
Sent: Wednesday, November 15, 2006 7:01 PM
To: BCP list
Subject: [bcp] Landis saga get even kookier


http://www.cyclingnews.com/news.php?id=news/2006/nov06/nov14news2

This:

http://www.velonews.com/race/int/articles/11201.0.html

And this:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15713215/

You couldn't write fiction like this.


http://fixedgearcycling.blogspot.com/
______________________

[Serpico]

interesting... but, anyone who followed the hamilton story--is likely to be burnt out on wanting to believe landis. not fair I know, but it's true. it's hard to invest yourself in something/someone only to find out it isn't true. had this happened to landis a few years ago I think he'd have a lot more support. had this happened pre-operacion puerto (yes, I know a flawed investigation--but 100x more read the "tour riders suspended" reports than the "oops, operacion puerto was a ****up" stories).

I like landis, but I simply won't sort through the myriad of details and since I have no scientific training I don't know whether I'm being bamboozled by lawyer-hired "experts" or not.

the media buzz on "drugs in cycling" hit the saturation point--and exploded--several months ago. coupled with the olympics peeps, etc etc. it's simply exhausting.

whether he did it or not, I still feel for landis. he's basically the bagman/lackey/scapegoat etc. for a sport that is rife with corruption. corruption that is mafia-like in it "everday-ness" and normality. corruption that persists, omerta-like, based on a sport where everyone "knows" what's going on and yet sees nothing and says nothing. corruption where dudes who used to be gym teachers, and assumedly once had a sincere interest in the upbringing of our youth, now perpetuate a drug culture that destroys lives--simply to line their own pockets.

for as much as intrigues us, the sheer exoticness of a sport where people compete at a level--the bleeding edge--of survival, much like the literary intrigue we bestow on pugilists of previous eras. for as much as we laud the "they do this better than us also" nature of much transatlantic exchanges--the simple fact is that the european sport is fu*ked imho, absolutely and systemically, and I don't know sh*t but what I read... and even I can tell.

personally I'm not interested in any of the goings on, at the professional level, of european cycling. it's just sad and it's depressing and it's not what it seems.

floyd landis is a long way from home, hell the kids from flanders and alsace are a long way from home. the european sport is not the kind of cycling we romanticize--even if we think we understand that we still don't understand HOW MUCH it isn't what we think.

[Louis]

Yes, there are issues with the evidence against Landis...




...the same issues there were with the evidence against OJ and the same issues there are with the evidence for global warming. The issues are that there are some people who are in no way objective about it blowing smoke you know where....

[Lost Weekend]

Landis is coming out with a novel titled "If I did dope this is how I would do it".

He will make more off this book then winning the stupid tour.

[Gothard]

Not to brag, but re-read my previous comments re: chain of custody, lab reliability, ability to mask one's messups.
If this is all true, they should bury themselves in the sand for a while...
Again, Floyd may or may not have doped, I don't really care at this point.

[toaster]

The whole thing about Floyd is really sad. People seem to not really want to talk about the affair because of how the Tyler Hamilton case turned out.

The Tour last year was a mess. The top two guys get thrown out before it starts and basically the third place guy wins. Then they pretty much tar and feather him because he's an American and the French feel somehow that will avenge all of Armstrong's wins.

Then we've got an American guy, Pound, who's against any cyclist regardless of nationality who would go to any length to defend a shoddy French lab even if science could prove the lab was wrong just because he hates Lance and the entire pro peloton altogether.

Now, Discovery signs the top prospect for a Grand Tour contender, Basso, and seemingly will protect his right to privacy regarding DNA disclosure when other teams are making new demands on riders and doping controls and DNA sampling.

Certainly, if Basso wins the Giro or the Tour next year with Discovery it will have to be with an asterisk next to his name in the recorded history of cycling. Floyd's win is forever tainted by the organized campaign that was waged against him regardless of the true results of the tests of his physiological state after stage 17 of the '06 Tour.

The apathy regarding the Landis' case is unfortunate. Floyd Landis' exoneration, if it happens, won't erase the injustice done to him and if in fact he did use exogenous testosterone supplementation it wasn't the reason he turned in the astounding performance on that pivotal stage.

It would be something to look to the recent disclosure by ex-Postal teamates of seven time winner Lance Armstrong who brought up doping by domestique riders and consider the dominance of Lance's team in controlling the peloton and the outcome of those tours. It seems like having a doped up team of workers is a good strategy to make the leader faster and put him in position to win. Team Discovery is, or was, the team who might have had that type of strategy since ex-riders, Hamilton, Heras were eventually caught in doping scandals. This whole issue has been debated ad nauseum and regardless of who doped and who didn't, the 2006 Tour de France was ultimately ruined by the French.

[Needs Help]

The bulk of the case against Landis goes well beyond what can be summarized in a headline.

I'll try to summarize the salient points here.

1. Various lab documentation show the athlete identification number matches the lab sample numbers establishing the first requirement for banning a rider under WADA rules.

2. A lab document shows that someone crossed out some entries because they entered information one line too low on the form. The entry was crossed out and rewritten one line higher up on the form. Both entries are legible and the document conforms to WADA procedures and guidelines for filling out such forms.

3. An athlete id number was written, subsequently crossed out, and then re-entered. The newly entered number was Landis'. The lab temporarily ran out of forms, so a technician grabbed one that had a number written on it and crossed it out and then entered Landis' results on the form. Upon finishing the tests, he signed his name at the bottom of the form as WADA rules require when there are any changes to a form so that the specific technician can be located and questioned later if an athlete subsequently challenges the test results. The technician passed three lie detector tests when questioned about the results he wrote down.

4. The chain-of-custody document which details how the sample was handled is illegible--to a non French speaker. But, after taking the document to the University of France at Paris, the Presidente Emeritus interpreted the document, and the chain of custody conforms with WADA rules.

5. The WADA has rules which prevent testing of contaminated specimens. A contaminated specimen may show a false-positive. A specimen is considered contaminated if the ratio of respective glucuroconjugates exceeds 5% and the ratio of antiglucuroconjugates is less than 15%. Landis' sample showed a ratio of 7.7% for glucuroconjugates exceeding the first ratio, but the antiglucuroconjugates were within the limits of the second ratio. By the WADA rules, his specimen was valid.

6. The lab has its own rules regarding repeatability of tests. The lab's own rules state that consecutive tests of the same sample should show results that are within 30% of each other. Two consecutive tests of Landis' sample showed results that were 238% different from each other. In other words, the second test showed a result that was two and a half times higher than the first result. However, the second test used a sample that was 250% bigger than the first sample. When normalized, the results of the samples were within the lab's repeatability guidelines.

7. Regarding the exogenous testosterone, Landis' sample met the criteria for a positive test. 4 metabolites or breakdown products need to be abnormal to show use of exogenous testosterone. Only 1 of the Landis' 4 breakdown products was abnormal as an absolute reading. However, because of the various masking agents used by athletes, WADA specifically created a rule that measured ratios of testosterone levels. Athletes may be able to jigger their absolute testosterone levels, but there is no known method for changing testosterone ratios. Landis' ratios were outside those allowed by WADA, and furthermore the absolute levels measured indicate Landis attempted to manipulate his absolute testosterone levels with outside agents.

8. The strongest indicator of exogenous testosterone use is the level of the Basso2Diol-Basso5Diol. The Landis sample showed a high level indicating that exogenous testosterone was in the sample. In addition, because masking agents can be used to manipulate testosterone components, the ratios of two other unique testosterone components were examined. They also were outside allowable ranges, which indicated that Landis introduced testosterone products into his system in an attempt to manipulate some of his testosterone levels. These types of manipulations have not been observed before and indicate that some athletes are using new masking agents unknown to WADA at this time.


9. Landis' doping control form had text indicating that the sample had a therapeutic exemption for medication he was taking for his hip. But in accordance with WADA rules, the lab technician was never allowed access to the doping control form. In accordance with the rules, the lab technician filled out a subsidiary form which was later matched up with the doping control form by administrators. In addition, the doping control form only states the substance for which the exemption is given--not the specific medical condition that requires the medicine. Thirty two other riders had exemptions for the same substance.

[csm]

wait, OJ did it?
wow.
I bet those folks in LA feel stupid now; rioting and what not.

[toaster]

VeloNews reports that Basso and Discovery confirm agreement for DNA testing. The only thing is Discovery has hired the jury from the O.J. Simpson trial to interpret the results.

[BBB]

No doubt there are pretty serious issues raised in Landis' defence (setting aside all his 'other' defences; drinking, naturally high levels etc).

Regardless of all the above, the French didn't 'ruin' the Tour, while the much maligned D*ck Pound is in fact Canadian.

[AgilisMerlin]

They can try and prosecute Floyd Landis, but the holes are deep and wide. The Lab cannot be trusted, and their i thought they had tied him to the wall and were pouring salt in his wounds.

Life is strange indeed. These smoke and mirror stories are getting mighty old. Seems WADA and the UCI cannot follow their own protocol.


go Floyd go Floyd go Floyd

i don't care if you are guilty or not, go screw big brother.....................they surely have not followed any of their own guidelines......................whatafrickin'mess. .............indeed


they cannot even claim a winner for last years tour............howf'up is that?



AmerliN