Landis was suspended Thursday morning from his Phonak Cycling Team after a drug test conducted during the Tour de France, which he won, revealed "an unusual level of testosterone," according to Phonak's Web site.

The disputed test was given July 20, when Landis responded to the previous day's meltdown with an incredible ride through the Alps. He regained nearly eight minutes of lost time, a day after most thought his chances of winning the race had disintegrated.

The 1994 Conestoga Valley High school graduate denies any illegal drug use during his Tour triumph.

"I want the chance to prove my innocence," Landis said from an undisclosed European location during a 15-minute teleconference with reporters. "I'm innocent until proven guilty because that's how we do things in America.

"I wouldn't blame you a bit for being skeptical."

Landis has been suspended by his Swiss-based team pending a B sample test that is being conducted today. Results of the second test are expected within a week or two.

Another positive result would likely strip Landis of his Tour title.

Landis, 30, phoned his mother, Arlene, at her Farmersville home Thursday morning.

"Of course, he wasn't happy about it, (because) they're spoiling everything he's supposed to be doing right now," Mrs. Landis said. "He said there's no way (he's guilty). I really believe him."

When asked during the teleconference if he had ever lied to his mother, Landis replied, "I don't think anyone has ever lied to Mom."

Mrs. Landis advised her son to stay positive.

"Floyd was dealing with his own emotions on the phone, and I told him to be strong," Mrs. Landis said. "There is a reason for this, and it's to give Him greater glory, to give God greater glory when the whole thing is finished."

Landis became the third American to win cycling's premier event Sunday when he was escorted into Paris by congratulatory teammates and rival riders.

Five days later, his reputation for a stellar work ethic is in jeopardy.

"My immediate reaction (to the news) was to look for the alcohol bottle, but my secondary reaction was a bit more logical," Landis said during Thursday's teleconference.

"At the exact moment I was told, every single scenario went through my head about what was going to happen. There was no way for me to tell myself that this wasn't going to be a disaster. No matter what happens next, I knew it was going to be a long road."

Following July 19's "bonking," Landis said he had a beer at a nearby bar, then returned to his hotel room and drank some whiskey.

His alcohol consumption is one of many possible factors that could have played into the elevated testosterone levels.

Landis became aware of the news about the drug test Wednesday via fax during a race in Holland. Also on Wednesday, International Cycling Union, the sport's governing body, released a statement to the Associated Press that a Tour cyclist had tested positive for doping. Neither the cyclist or affiliated team was disclosed.

Phonak made the news public Thursday morning.

"Everything I hoped for and dreamed about for 10 years had changed at that moment I was told," Landis said. "I went from very high to a low."

Today's backup "B sample" test examines the same urine sample Landis provided July 20, likely at the same French testing facility. A portion of the original urine sample Landis submitted was kept, in case there was a positive result for the first test. The second test will be done on the remainder of the initial sample.

Landis is hoping skeptics stay patient until the results of the second test are released next month.

"I'm asking everyone to take a step back," he said.

After each stage of the tour, several riders give urine samples for subsequent drug screenings: the overall leader, the stage winner and three random competitors. The tests from the Tour are conducted at a French laboratory at Chatenay-Malabry.

Landis was the overall leader five times and the stage winner once, meaning he was tested at least six times during the race.

Dr. Shalender Bhasin, a leading testosterone researcher at Boston University Medical Center, said one way to know if the ratio found in the test was normal was to continue testing the athlete. If the ratio is normal for that man, it will not change.

Pat McQuaid, the president of the International Cycling Union, said it would be a great disappointment and an unacceptable violation should Landis' B sample come back positive, but he added that it also would prove the effectiveness of UCI's anti-doping tests.

Dick Pound, chairman of the World Anti-Doping Agency, said "a huge black mark" would remain on the sport, regardless of the backup test result.

"For this to happen in your marquee event, that's a stunning indictment of the state of the sport," Pound said. "They have a huge problem, a really serious problem, but first they have to recognize it. It's like an alcoholic. Unless you acknowledge you have a problem, it's very hard to move toward a solution."

Over the years, cycling has been plagued by doping scandals and allegations of drug use. In 1998, the entire Festina team was kicked off the tour after a huge stash of performance-enhancing drug paraphernalia was found in a team car. From 1999 through 2005, Armstrong was dogged by doping accusations, which continue through his retirement.

Landis' positive result has further affected the sport and its image. After hearing the news, the German ZDF television station said it might stop broadcasting the Tour de France because it had signed on to show a sporting event, not "the performances of the pharmaceutical industry."

This time, the drug at the center of the scandal is testosterone, an anabolic steroid used for strength and endurance and also for quicker recovery, said Donald Catlin, who runs the Olympic drug testing laboratory at UCLA. Its use raises the ratio of testosterone to epitestosterone.

The World Anti-Doping Agency recently lowered the threshold for a positive test to 4-to-1 from 6-to-1. A person's normal ratio is 1 to 1- or 2-to-1.

Catlin said that the test to discover high levels of testosterone is two-pronged and labor-intensive. The first part, to see if there is a high T/E ratio, can take anywhere from eight to 12 hours, he said. The second part, to see whether that high ratio comes naturally or from an external source, also is lengthy.

He added, however, that it is rare for B samples to fail to confirm the initial result.

"This is not a slam-dunk case," he said of Landis' case. "There is work to do, and if there's ever a test that won't repeat a positive, it will be a really complex analysis, and this is one of them."

Catlin also said if Landis had a naturally high level of testosterone, someone would already know it or someone would be retrieving the past results and plotting them on graph paper to prove his innocence.

"These data are saved and someone can look them up," he said.

Intelligencer Journal Staff Writer Brett Lovelace, the New York Times and the Associated Press contributed to this article. blog comments powered by Disqus