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CNN Live Today

Floyd Landis News Conference

Aired July 28, 2006 - 11:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Let's take a look at the latest death toll from both sides of the border. Israel says 51 people have been killed. And in Lebanon, at least 398 fatalities reported in two-and- a-half weeks of fighting. Hezbollah has not released official casualty figures, but Israeli military sources estimate about 200,000 Hezbollah fighters have been killed.
The fight face-to-face, Israeli troops get ready for a type of warfare that many have never experienced.

CNN's John Roberts has that story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN ROBERTS, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: (voice-over): These are the first pictures of Israeli troops over the border in Lebanon, the town of Maroun al-Ras, the first village the Israeli army took in its ground campaign to rout Hezbollah guerrillas from southern Lebanon.

Maroun al-Ras appears quiet. There are still occasional skirmishes. One soldier died near the town yesterday. And the troops remain vigilant. But there's none of the fierce fighting here, like in Bint Jbail, where Hezbollah guerrillas killed eight Israelis on Wednesday.

General Shuki Shachar says, the battle was difficult, but Hezbollah lost far more than Israel.

GENERAL SHUKI SHACHAR, ISRAELI DEFENSE FORCES NORTHERN COMMAND: Just in this small battle, the soldiers of the Golani Brigade succeeded to inflict casualties on the enemy, more than double that they suffered by themselves.

ROBERTS: Reinforcements are being sent to the border. And as many as 15,000 reserves are being called up. This combat engineering battalion is staged and ready, waiting for orders to go in.

Sergeant Omri Azulay has never been in battle before. What happened in Bint Jbail has him worried, but he's still eager to join the fight.

SERGEANT OMRI AZULAY, ISRAELI DEFENSE FORCES: My first actually face-to-face combat, but I'm looking forward to it, because this is something I have to do for my family, for my friends, for my whole country. ROBERTS: Lieutenant Shai Betiti has seen action in Gaza, but not the kind of organized guerrilla fighting he will face in Lebanon. Uncertain about the battle ahead, the deaths of his comrades, he says, have stoked his will to win.

LIEUTENANT SHAI BETITI, ISRAELI DEFENSE FORCES: Give us more motivation than before. They want get to in. They want to fight. They want to win.

ROBERTS: And what will they face when they get inside Lebanon? Paratrooper John Burch, an American who moved to Israel two years ago, was on some of the first reconnaissance missions.

JOHN BURCH, ISRAELI DEFENSE FORCES: I guess you could describe this type of warfare as a bush warfare. You know, there's a lot of close-quarters combat. We have been training, you know, to engage the enemy White House 10 to 15, 20 meters, because of -- the bush is, you know, you have to go around them and kind of search for the enemy. It's kind of like a game of hide and seek.

ROBERTS: And there are growing divisions over how far the ground campaign should go. The military has plans to push Hezbollah back 14 miles, to the Litani River. But, as world opinion turns against them, Israeli political leaders are beginning to dial back those goals.

As for when the war might be over, even one of the army's top generals can't say.

(on camera): How much longer do you think this is going to take?

SHACHAR: I have no idea how much it will take, because there are so many factors that influence, the opinion, the public opinion in Israel, the public opinion in the world, some international forces, and, of course, the decisions of the government.

ROBERTS (on camera): The military options to move Hezbollah past the Litani River, says General Shachar, could take more than a month, but if politicians insist on the more modest option, it could be over, he says, within one to two weeks.

John Roberts, CNN, Metula, Israel.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: From Israel to Madrid, Spain, you're looking at live pictures. This is where Tour de France winner American Floyd Landis is scheduled to hold a news conference any minute, this in light of doping allegations that he failed a drug test late in the Tour de France.

Our Al Goodman is there and on the phone -- Al.

All right, actually, we'll get to Al in a moment. And actually we'll be listening into that news conference as it gets under way in Madrid. First, though, let's go to Iraq, and about 3,500 American troops find out that the fight for Iraq will last a little bit longer for them. Instead of heading home, they're moving into Baghdad for an extended tour of duty.

Our Arwa Damon joins me now from the capital.

Where will they be going, Arwa?

ARWA DAMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Daryn, they're going to be coming to the capital. This is a brigade that has been up in Mosul, the 172nd Striker Brigade Combat Team. They will be moving to the capital in the next coming weeks. Exactly where they are going to be when it comes to Baghdad is unclear. In fact, the military is not going to be disclosing that information at this time. That would be violating operational security. But what we do know is that 3,500 more soldiers will definitely be coming. We also have heard in the past that a second brigade will also be added to the combat power that is here in the capital. There are right now some 9,000 U.S. troops fighting alongside 43,000 Iraqi security forces.

Now this is going to be interesting, Baghdad, for the most part, there are big areas of the city in which security has been handed over to Iraqi security forces, and U.S. forces that operate in the capital tend to try to keep a lower profile, to try allow the Iraqi security forces to take the lead.

Now obviously because of the escalating violence we have seen over the last few months as a measure to try to bring that back under control. There is this deployment of more U.S. forces to the streets, and it will be interesting to see what kind of an effect their presence has, and what kind of reaction their increased presence has in the capital from the Iraqi people -- Daryn.

KAGAN: Arwa Damon, live from Baghdad. Thank you.

Once again, standing by, waiting for a news conference to begin out of Madrid, Spain. The Tour de France winner, Floyd Landis, expected to hold his own news conference to talk about allegations that he failed a drug test during the Tour de France. You'll see that live here on CNN.

Also ahead, popping gum and getting. Smiley faces hold a sinister secret. Teachers looking for tell all pot holes in gumballs -- pot holes.

Stay with CNN, the most trusted name in news.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: Running about ten minutes late now in Madrid, Spain, expecting Tour de France winner and American Floyd Landis to step up to the microphone to talk about the allegations that he's failed a drug test. Landis has asked that a second sample that was taken at the same time as the questionable sample be tested as well. That all has to happen before he would be stripped of his title from Tour de France.

On to health news now, smiley-face gum balls, stuffed with marijuana. Police say it's a new one to them. A stash was found at a high school in Ellicott City, Maryland. Three 17-year-old students face drug charges. Police say each gumball was drilled and packed with a gram of grass. A former drug enforcement agent says when it comes to distributing drugs, dealers are limited only by their imaginations.

I want to go back to the live picture we were watching from Madrid, Spain. Our Al Goodman, our Spain bureau chief, is standing by to tell us more about what we could expect to hear -- Al.

GOODMAN: Well, we're expecting the appearance of Floyd Landis any moment. There is a crowd of journalists here in the conference room at this hotel in central Madrid, a bigger crowd of journalists and photographers outside waiting for him to show up. We've looked around, tried to find representatives of Mr. Landis who are not on site at this time. So basically there's nobody here to talk to in advance, other than among the journalists, and everybody has showed up to hear what this man has to say to defend his innocence. The Tour de France winner now charged with doping.

KAGAN: So no sign of him, but they're the ones who called the news conference, correct?

GOODMAN: Indeed. Now it's not untypical in Madrid that on a hastily arranged news conference like this, that the word goes out. And they said 5:30 local time -- that's 11:30 your time -- to get the media down here. In fact, possibly they had it in mind that they would start a little bit later, just to give people a chance to scramble and get down here on a Friday afternoon.

But certainly, high anticipation of what he has to say. Now, you know that if he -- if the second of his samples comes up as a doping -- his sample A has showed up as doping, but he's not considered guilty or to have doped unless sample B shows up doping to be positive. But if that does, then the winner would be a Spaniard who came in second. So he, of course, is watching. All of Spain is watching.

And now another reason that Landis might be doing the news conference here in Madrid, we're told -- we haven't confirmed this -- but some of the sports journalists here in Spain believe that on Landis' Swiss-run cycling team, that some of the key executives and directors of that team are Spanish.

Of course, Spain being one of the great countries for cycling, along with other European countries. Runs its own road race, not as famous as the Tour de France. So there's a lot of interest in professional cycling here, and even more now that Landis has decided to come out and defend his name here in Madrid at this hotel. KAGAN: You answered my question. Why Madrid? The race is in France. He was supposed to be in Denmark for a race that he pulled out of earlier this week. And he's from California. But this, I guess, because of the great interest and the other ties to Spain, is why we'll be seeing this news conference here.

When it begins, we'll go back live to Madrid. Thank you, Al Goodman.

Heavy passengers creating a heavy problem for airlines. So can packing on pounds raise your travel costs? Our Dr. Sanjay Gupta weighs in on this.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SANJAY GUPTA, SR. MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The soaring cost of fuel has airlines looking to trim the weight of their planes any way they can. For example, weight limits on baggage are being more strictly enforced. Some airlines have done things like removing onboard ovens, or converting to lighter seats. Toilets are flushed during extended ground delays to reduce the amount of water on board.

But there's one weight the airlines can't control, and that's yours. A decade ago, the FAA set the estimated weight per passenger at 180 pounds. In 2003, the average was up by another ten pounds. Airlines are learning to deal with the fact that Americans are getting bigger.

DR. ANDREW DANNEBERG, NATL CTR OF ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH: As the average weight of the American public has gone up, and airlines are necessarily having to fly more weight.

GUPTA: A study of the unexpected costs of obesity by the CDC shows that Americans' expanding bottoms are hurting the airline's bottom line.

One study showed airlines spending an extra $275 million a year just to pay for the fuel that's needed to carry traveling Americans' extra weight. And that was back in 2000, when jet fuel cost half of what it does today.

The ATA, the trade group for the commercial airlines, says it doesn't study obesity's impact on fuel costs, but that the CDC study sounds just about right. And the CDC thinks there's a general message here which affects us all.

DANNEBERG: I think it does point out one of the consequences of obesity on the population, and that obesity is a major public health issue that needs more attention.

GUPTA: And as if there needs to be another reason for Americans to lose weight, a few airlines have begun requiring what they call "customers of size" to buy two tickets to fly.

Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, reporting. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: To get your "Daily Dose" of health news online, log on to our Web site. You'll find the latest medical news, a health library and information on diet and fitness. The address is CNN.com/health.

Let's go live to Madrid, Spain. There is American Tour de France winner Floyd Landis, just arriving there at the hotel in Madrid. He's going to hold a news conference that he and his people have called to deal with the allegations that he failed one drug test on the 17th stage of Tour de France.

As he gets seated and they get situated, let's listen in to what the American has to say.

Looks like a little bit of pandemonium -- they're not so organized there in Madrid -- as the photographers are crowding the scene there, trying to get in on Floyd Landis. Makes it a little bit difficult to see him and hear him.

He has called this news conference asking his fans and cycling enthusiasts around the world not to be so quick to rush to judgment because that one test came back after the 17th stage with a high testosterone level. He says it's possible that drugs that he takes for his deteriorating hip and a thyroid condition could have caused the false positive for testosterone. And by the rules of the game of Tour de France, he will be given a second test. He gave two samples at the time and the second one will be tested, as well. He's saying hold on and wait until the second one is tested until you make any judgments.

Interestingly, that test came back positive after the 17th stage, and that was the stage and the day that Landis turned in a performance that many people say was the most incredible comeback ride they've ever seen in the history of Tour de France. He made up an eight- minute deficit. In fact, the day before, he said he didn't think it was even possible that he would win Tour de France. Clearly did that, overcame that, did that stage and went on to win, making him the third American after Greg LeMond and Lance Armstrong to win Tour de France.

Looks like things are calming down in Madrid. We'll see if we can listen in. All right.

Well, they're still kind of figuring things out. I'll also share with you that Landis is such an incredible inspiration story because of his -- because of his hip. He had an accident a few years ago. He's going to need hip replacement surgery. So he can barely walk, but he's a champion cyclist.

They've cleared out and he looks a little bit dazed. Let's see if we can hear from Floyd Landis.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (SPEAKING IN SPANISH)

KAGAN: As you can hear, they are speaking Spanish. And this is taking place in Madrid, Spain. Some questions before this got started about why Madrid. Landis is from California. The race was in France, obviously, Tour de France. And he was supposed to actually run a race or ride a race in Denmark that he pulled out of. That was supposed to be Thursday and Friday.

Our Al Goodman, our Spain bureau chief, was able to explain that there are quite a few ties to Madrid, Spain, both with the team that he rides with and also the significance. If -- not for some reason -- but if he does fail the second test and his title is stripped, the second place finisher in Tour de France is Spanish, so it would go to a Spaniard.

While this is all going on, Landis -- well, he's about to speak. Let's listen.

FLOYD LANDIS, TOUR DE FRANCE CHAMPION: First of all, I'd like to thank the media for coming here today.

(TRANSLATION IN SPANISH)

LANDIS: The main reason for holding this meeting is because of the information that has been spread yesterday and today, both in Europe and in the E.U. about a certain physiologic result that appeared in one of my urine samples in a test carried out during the Tour de France.

(TRANSLATION IN SPANISH)

LANDIS: To start with, this result, which is no other than an alteration in the relation of testosterone/epitestosterone, should not have made any kind of effect except to have made an endocrinologic study on behalf of the medical services of the UCI (ph).

As always, since I have cycled, my physiologic parameters of testosterone and epitestosterone are high, as of those of any other sportsman. And in special cases, as in mine, for natural reasons, this level is higher still.

(TRANSLATION IN SPANISH)

LANDIS: Therefore, I would like to leave absolutely clear that I am not in any doping process. In this particular case, nobody can talk about doping and for this reason, I ask all of the media, both in Europe and in the United States, that they know how to interpret and understand where we are.

(TRANSLATION IN SPANISH)

LANDIS: I understand that the administrative protocols of the UCI and WATA (ph) establish in these cases that the sportsman must undergo an endocrinologic study to determine that the levels of testosterone and epitestosterone are high, as in those of other sports, and from cycling and other sports.

(TRANSLATION IN SPANISH)

LANDIS: This is what we are going to do. After all of what we have just said, I ask, first, that the case not be directly treated as a doping case.

(TRANSLATION IN SPANISH)

LANDIS: Second, that in the same way as other sportsman in the world have done this, I will proceed to undergo the tests to credit the levels that I have had during the tour and all my career are absolutely natural and produced by my own organism.

(TRANSLATION IN SPANISH)

LANDIS: Thirdly, until such research has been carried out to which every sportsman in the world is entitled, I ask not to be judged and much lesser, to be sentenced by anyone.

(TRANSLATION IN SPANISH)

LANDIS: Consequently, I declare convincingly and categorically that my winning the Tour de France has been exclusively due to many years of training and my complete devotion to cycling to the sacrifice of an entire life to carry out my dream, a dream of thousands of kilometers that I have completed to the absolute respect to the cleanness of this sport. [

(TRANSLATION IN SPANISH)

LANDIS: Cleanness that I will keep respecting during my sports career, and particularly in the next competition that I will participate, since, as I inform you, my intention is to compete normally during this year, depending on when my hip operation will take place, as all of you know.

(TRANSLATION IN SPANISH)

(SPEAKING SPANISH)

KAGAN: It looks like now they're opening it up to question for Floyd Landis. Let's continue listening.

LANDIS: Thank you. As far as the medical questions, I refer that to my lawyers. And, again, they are the reason that I'm here. I'm here for meetings to establish a plan, which I've just explained to you, about how we will explain to the world why this is not a doping case and a natural occurrence.

(SPEAKING SPANISH)

KAGAN: The question is being asked Spanish, and then a translator being used so that Floyd Landis, the Tour de France winner, the American, can answer. He has called this news conference to answer allegations a drug test in the 17th stage of the Tour de France. He has said that he has naturally high testosterone levels, and it was for a high level of testosterone that he tested. He said it happens naturally in his body. He said this is not a doping process. It shouldn't be treated as that. He's asking that that's how it be treated, and he says he will cooperate with any kind of testing need in order to prove that his body naturally produces an abnormal amount of testosterone. He is entitled to another round of tests before he would be stripped of his title from Tour de France.

I want to let you know that Floyd Landis, who's there at the news conference right there in Madrid, Spain. He's going to be Larry's guest, Larry King's guest, so that's a CNN exclusive in primetime, and that's tonight at 9:00 p.m. Eastern.

KAGAN: Let's go back and listen to more questions and answers from Floyd Landis.

LANDIS: What has happened here is out of my control. And so impact this has on the Tour de France is not any of my doing.

(SPEAKING IN SPANISH)

LANDIS: As you know, Oscar was a teammate of mine, Barerro (ph), in the last year. And Sossa (ph), like Oscar, is respected in Beleton (ph), both which have only friends. And I appreciate any words of confidence from them.

(SPEAKING IN SPANISH)

LANDIS: We will request the B sample immediately, and I will have a representative there to be sure that everything is done correctly. When -- the exact of which it is done, I do not know. I will request it immediately.

QUESTION: Do you think that will be within days or a week, Floyd?

LANDIS: I'll request it within the next hours. Less than days. As to when the test is completed, I cannot say.

QUESTION: Do you think that the test would be done in days or that the other sample would be public within days or weeks? You're going to request it right away...

LANDIS: I apologize...

QUESTION: Whether it will be public after it's executed? Just when will the public know how the B sample is?

LANDIS: The public will know immediately when the B sample is tested. I see no reason to wait on that.

QUESTION: But the process could still take several days or weeks, as far as you know?

LANDIS: I don't think weeks, but maybe other people have more experience with that.

QUESTION: Thank you.

QUESTION: (SPEAKING IN SPANISH)

DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: American Tour de France winner Floyd Landis saying he expects to be tested again in a matter of hours. He is saying that he has a naturally high level of testosterone levels. He says his body produces it naturally. He says this is not a doping process, and he says he will cooperate fully to prove that this is just the way his body works.

He is threatened with losing his title as Tour de France champion. If it is stripped, a Spaniard will then get the title. This coming from Madrid, Spain.

We're going to continue to listen to these questions and answers for the champion cyclist and turn our coverage over to our sister network, CNN International.

LANDIS: I've been directed from my lawyers as to what we will do next, and I think he can explain to you the process.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (SPEAKING IN SPANISH)

JONATHAN MANN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: As Floyd Landis' attorney speaks in Spanish, a reminder to our English-speaking viewers that Floyd Landis will be speaking entirely in English in the hours to come. He'll be appearing on "LARRY KING LIVE's" next edition. And we hope you'll join us for that.

But, once again, if you're just joining us, Floyd Landis, the champion of this year's Tour de France, is speaking to reporters in Madrid, saying that he has never been involved in any doping process, that all through his years of training, he's devoted himself to clean achievement in cycling, and that his high testosterone levels are naturally occurring in his case, and in the case of many other sportsmen, he said.

His lawyer, now speaking in Spanish, is explaining the legal steps that he plans to take as part of a longer effort that he's only alluding to in the vaguest of terms to prove medically that he did not resort to artificial means to win the tour.

CANDY REID, CNN INTERNATIONAL SPORTS ANCHOR: Jonathan, I think it's interesting to say that Landis was asked about the medical implications, and he did refer that, in fact, to his lawyer. He really didn't want to comment on that, did he?

MANN: What we're watching here is a very particular thing, not only a man who is reputed to be a very clean figure in a sport that has been hit over and over again by allegations of doping, but also a man whose victory in the Tour de France may be medically the last one he's ever capable of.

Even before these allegations of a testosterone problem, Floyd Landis was known to have a degenerative hip condition. He's scheduled to go under surgery to get a new artificial hip. It's not clear if he will ever race again. He is defending the only Tour championship potentially he may ever have a chance at.

REID: And going back to that hip operation, he has been having injections of cortisone it's said, a medically-used steroid drug, to treat pain for that hip which he has to have replaced very soon, but that is said to not increase his levels of testosterone.

MANN: Let's listen in once again from Madrid.

QUESTION: (SPEAKING IN SPANISH)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (SPEAKING IN SPANISH)

QUESTION: (SPEAKING IN SPANISH)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (SPEAKING IN SPANISH)

LANDIS: Yes, I was equally as surprised as everyone else was. And which day it occurred I don't think has any irony. I was tested six other times during the Tour, and 14 other times during the beginning of the season in every other race I did. So, where it came up, I don't know what relevance that has.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (SPEAKING IN SPANISH)

MANN: While the translation continues in Spanish, this is an important point he's making. He tested positive for testosterone only once.

Testosterone is not a drug you take on Monday to boost your performance on Tuesday. If it's in your system, it's in your system for an awfully long time. It works over the course of weeks.

So I suppose, Candy Reid, that will be one of the arguments being made in his favor.

REID: Well, I think absolutely. Dr. Gary Wadler, a member of the World Anti-Doping Agency, has said this is one of the reasons he's very surprised. He said it just really doesn't add up.

LANDIS: ... the best ride I could do. I was the strongest guy on the stage and in the race. And I deserve to win.

I was determined to win. I set out that day to win the stage. I didn't know about gaining any time. My goal was to win the stage, and I'm proud of it.

QUESTION: (INAUDIBLE)

LANDIS: I can say only what I experienced and what I know, and that that is that the day before I didn't ride nearly as hard as the other guys.

QUESTION: (SPEAKING IN SPANISH)

MANN: Once again, drawing attention to a very particular turnaround that raised eyebrows at the time, but really just excited the world of cycling. Stage 16, Floyd Landis collapsed. He lost an enormous amount of time, so much so that on that day he said he could never recover and win the tour.

Stage 17, he caught up, what was it, Candy, eight minutes? Which is unheard of in the world of the Tour de France.

REID: Well, that's why I think a few eyebrows are raised, Jonathan, because after the 17th stage, that is when he had this positive test for high levels of testosterone which made people think, you know, was he using? Of course, Landis has told the media that we should not call it doping. He said this was a natural occurrence of high levels of testosterone.

MANN: We're watching the chemistry. We're watching the calendar. And we're listening as Floyd Landis makes his case to the world media, saying once again, "I desired to win. I set out to win." And he has never, he said, been involved in doping.

REID: And this gentleman is answering questions for Landis regarding medical questions. Landis really not prepared to answer questions on those issues. Instead, handing it over to his lawyer, who he says instructed him to make this press conference so that the public can hear what he has to say.

Landis says he is innocent. He says don't call it doping. He says this is a natural occurrence for testosterone, and he really wants his chance to prove he's innocent.

We are expecting a B sample, and hopefully we will hear the results of that early next week.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (SPEAKING IN SPANISH)

REID: Of course, Jonathan, at this point if it is another positive test, then Phonak say they will fire the 2006 Tour de France winner, and most likely he'll have his title taken away from him.

MANN: Cycling...

LANDIS: No, I haven't read the newspapers. I came here to tell you my point of view. As far as other people's speculation, that has no value for me.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (SPEAKING IN SPANISH)

QUESTION: (SPEAKING IN SPANISH)

LANDIS: I can say that when I heard them I was surprised and disappointed that this process would begin, but I'm confident as ever and I'm proud of the fact that I won the tour, because I was the strongest guy there. And that's my position.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (SPEAKING IN SPANISH)

QUESTION: (SPEAKING IN SPANISH)

LANDIS: That would be speculation on my part. I don't think that's wise.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (SPEAKING IN SPANISH)

REID: Jonathan, I think it's fair to say that Landis is being very, very cautious on what he says.

MANN: Landis is a veteran of international cycling, but this is not a world he knows well. He grew up in Pennsylvania Dutch country in the United States, the child of a devout Mennonite family. He's been a cyclist his whole life, but all of a sudden now he's becoming both a champion and a very challenged figure in the international media.

At the same time, he'll be working through attorneys, he'll be working through medical specialists. His career has changed dramatically in barely more than a week's time from being a journeyman cyclist to one of the most famous athletes in the world, and now potentially to one of the most discredited men in sports.

REID: Absolutely. He was rather known as Lance Armstrong's understudy, wasn't he, while it -- while Lance Armstrong, which he helped to win one of the seven tours that Armstrong won?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (SPEAKING IN SPANISH)

MANN: Well, a hastily-organized news conference. Stop and go, moving between Spanish and English.

But, Candy Reid, as we've been watching, I guess the headline here very clearly is Floyd Landis not taking this news sitting down.

REID: Oh, absolutely. He says he's innocent, and he has said that. He even said he was very surprised, actually, when this sample tested positive for high levels of testosterone.

He says, please, give me a chance to prove I'm innocent. We are hoping that a B sample, the result of a B sample will come out early next week and we'll know more about this. But he said in that press conference, didn't he, that it was natural -- natural occurrences of high testosterone?

And again, he said he was very, very surprised about this. Cycling is at this moment struggling for credibility. And we've see Ivan Basso and Jan Ullrich implicated in a Spanish doping scandal. They didn't even start the Tour de France. And now you've got the winner here implicated with another positive test, as we said, for high levels of testosterone.

And as you've said, Jonathan, several times, he is known as a clean rider.

MANN: One of the most extraordinary comebacks in a sport. One of the most storied performances in the history of the Tour de France.

Floyd Landis, a man who cyclists counted out after the 16th day of the race because his performance was so disastrous that day, came back on the 17th, astounded people with an incredible burst of energy. And now that burst of energy tied to a testosterone test later in the day is really raising questions about whether he was artificially boosting his performance. REID: And, of course, it will be interesting to hear, won't it? Landis is talking to "LARRY KING LIVE" later this Friday. So it will be very interesting to see what he says to Larry. Of course, that will be in English, so we'll be able to understand it.

MANN: A race that famously ends on the Champs-Elysees is not entirely over. The number one finisher, Floyd Landis, on the stage defending the yellow jersey, potentially maybe going to lose it, not because of his performance on the road, but because of now an examination that's going to be held in a laboratory.

Candy Reid, thanks very much for being with us through this coverage.

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