At least not yet.

As the world waits for the results of a second test to be released Saturday, supporters believe only Landis should be aware of the results.

Mike Farrington, a longtime friend of Landis and owner of Green Mountain Cyclery in Ephrata, said Thursday that the public shouldn't know about the doping allegations.

"The worst issue about this is that protocols weren't followed," Farrington said. "Nobody in the public should should know about this. What happened to his rights? That's what's bugging me the most. The officials handled it kind of poorly."

Testing began Thursday on Landis' backup sample at his home in California. France's Chatenay-Malabry laboratory is conducting the analysis.

The results of the test will not be available before Saturday, according to Jose Maria Buxeda, a lawyer for Landis.

It was reported July 27 that Landis was found to have an unusually high level of testosterone in his system following the July 20 stage of the three-week race.

Landis contends he naturally has a high level of testosterone.

On Monday, the New York Times reported that an unnamed source said tests showed Landis had synthetic testosterone in his body after the stage.

If the tests confirm the results of the first sample, Landis could become the first winner of the Tour de France to lose the yellow jersey in a doping case.

Should that occur, Tour runner-up Oscar Periero of Spain would be declared the winner.

Lawyers for Landis said Thursday they expect the B result to come back positive.

Eric Gebhard, another close friend of Landis', said the cyclist's privacy rights have been violated.

"To come out and claim this leaked information (which could be from) ... a janitor is ridiculous," Gebhard said. "It's all rumor and innuendo. I want to see some cold, hard facts."

Farrington blasted the laboratory that conducted the test, saying it has a history of reading tests incorrectly. "It's the same laboratory that Lance Armstrong had problems with," he said.

During the last week, doctors and lawyers for Landis said there could be a a number of explanations for his high level of testosterone, including alcohol consumption, medication and, the latest reason to be proposed, dehydration.

People in Lancaster County are behind Landis despite the doping allegations, said Rich Ruoff of Red Rose Races.com. "In Lancaster, people are hanging tough for him.

"People believe it's a mistake, an anomaly."

Though friends of Landis hope the second test is negative, they believe it will turn out to be positive.

"I wouldn't expect it to come back differently," Gebhard said. "It's coming from the same sample."

"As a guessing man, it will come back as a positive result," Ruoff said. "As a hopeful man, it will come back negative."

Even if Landis is cleared, Gebhard said the damage will be permanent. "His reputation is already ruined, and his career his seriously hurt," he said.

On Thursday, Gebhard spoke to Landis' wife, Amber, who said the cyclist is frustrated. "He's angry. I'm a little angry," Gebhard said.

But Gebhard said Floyd will fight to vindicate himself "just like anybody who puts themselves in his shoes and has been accused of something they didn't do.

"He's going to see this to the end."

Farrington remains optimistic that Floyd will overcome the controversy. "A lot of damage to Floyd has already been done. That's a shame," Farrington said. "But Floyd will come out of this great. My opinion of Floyd has not wavered and will not waver." blog comments powered by Disqus