Both the UCI and Floyd Landis' lawyer are claiming to have initiated the next stage in the investigation of Floyd Landis' alleged use of testosterone during the Tour de France: the testing of the B sample that Landis submitted after stage 17 of the Tour on July 20.
According to AFP an unnamed UCI spokesman claims the organisation requested the B sample test yesterday. "We have done this so the whole thing can be speeded up," the UCI spokesperson said. "We took this decision because of the importance of the case. Also the longer it goes on the more damage the sport risks suffering."
However, one of Landis' lawyers, Jose Maria Buxeda yesterday told the Associated Press, "We've sent the fax to the UCI this afternoon. Now we'll have to adjust to their calendar."
The lab where the tests will be conducted, at Chatenay-Malabry in Paris, closes for holidays at the end of this week, so it's likely Landis' B sample will be tested between Thursday and Saturday, the UCI said.
Buxeda said that Landis is willing to attend the analysis, depending on exactly when it occurs. Both Landis and his lawyers have said they expect the B sample to give the same result as the A, which showed an elevated ratio of testosterone to epitestosterone that is indicative of doping. Nevertheless, Landis claims he is innocent of doping, and there is a natural explanation for his elevated testosterone to epitestosterone ratio.
