Testosterone, Landis, and the Tour de France….

Tour de France champion Floyd Landis failed the testosterone–epitestosterone (T/E) ratio test. This is just one of many different aspects of drug testing in athletics, but rarely are these tests explained well to the public.

The typical Caucasian male has a T/E ratio of 1:1. One in 2000 males has a T/E ratio over 6:1 [1]. However, this is usually due to medical conditions that lower epitestosterone rather than raise testosterone [2]. Anti-doping regulations view anything over a 4:1 ratio as indicative of testosterone abuse.

It’s interesting to me that nobody is reporting Landis’ exact result. Was he 4:1? 100:1?

Landis is claiming that his results are part of his “natural organism,” and his attorney says they expect the B sample to be positive, too, because the imbalance was “natural” for Landis’ body. Hmmmm, why didn’t he flunk the earlier tests taken in the Tour then?

The corticosteroids Landis takes for his hip condition are typically banned, but these do not affect the T/E ratio, so are not the cause of the test results. Osteonecrosis, which Landis has in his right hip, is a frequent side effect of steroid use, although Landis claims his condition began with a crash.

Many athletes taking testosterone also use masking agents that raise their epitestosterone. Because the standard urine test only looks at the T/E ratio, it does not detect “high” levels of testosterone per se.

According to the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), T/E ratios in men do not vary more that 30% from their mean levels. Obviously, when a man who is normally 1:1 goes over the standard 4:1, the increase is unlikely to be due to natural causes. 

Others have argued that it would be stupid for a cyclist to use testosterone, as cyclists would not benefit from “bulking up.” This is inaccurate. Testosterone is also very useful in promoting muscle recovery. The idea that only the big NFL guys would benefit from steroids is mistaken.

I am also not convinced by the fact that Landis had passed previous tests during the Tour. The test in question, I believe, came right after his miraculous comeback stage.

We obviously must give Floyd Landis the benefit of the doubt until his case is complete.

As long as there is money and glory to be obtained through sports, somebody is going to try to beat the system. I’m getting cynical in my old age. But all of the fuss about steroids is going to be a quaint asterisk in the past once technologies for gene doping come online in sports. But that will have to wait for another post of its own….

1. Zorpette, G. (2000). The chemical games. Scientific American, 11, 16-23.
2. Dehennin, L. (1994). On the origin of physiologically high ratios of urinary testosterone to epitestosterone: consequences for reliable detection of testosterone administration by male athletes. Journal of Endocrinology, 142, 353-360. [Abstract]