Pierre Bordry, director of the French anti-doping agency (AFLD), claimed that athletes are able to slip past testing because labs are not looking for synthetic substances when their test results fall under accepted limits.
Bordry made his point by referring to the case of American Floyd Landis, which his lab oversaw the testing. "Is it good to have limits in place for [steroids], for testosterone?" he questioned. "The Landis story shows this well. If he is under the limit, we don't look for the origin of the testosterone. Whether it is a synthetic testosterone or not."
Last month, French newspaper L'Equipe reported that the analysis of seven of Floyd Landis urine 'B' samples, taken during the 2006 Tour de France, show traces of synthetic testosterone. The tests were carried out at the request of the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA), who is investigating Landis.
Landis' disciplinary hearing in front of the USADA that is scheduled to start on Monday, May 14.
"It is very important that it [the USADA] had the go-ahead to see if there is synthetic testosterone," Bordry continued in an interview with the Associated Press.
He noted that some cyclists are likely using synthetic products up to the accepted limits.
"It puts forward that certain well-advised sportsmen have a product that puts them under the limit ... which is still a synthetic product, but one which we will not look for because it falls under the threshold. There is a negative reading. But, after all, is there [synthetic] testosterone?"
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Bordry concluded by supporting more randomised testing. "If you say in advance that such and such ... the first, second and third will be tested ... and not the others, [then] you only need to arrange to finish fifth. The important thing is random testing."
