Winner Floyd Landis doesn't know why he tested positive for high testosterone

If found guilty, he could be stripped of his title and fired from the team.
PARIS (AP) -- Floyd Landis says he didn't cheat to win the Tour de France, he doesn't know why he tested positive for high testosterone and he's sure he can clear his name.
Even if he does, the American cyclist said, the disgrace of doping will probably follow him forever.
"Unfortunately, I don't think it's ever going to go away no matter what happens next," Landis said during a teleconference Thursday, hours after his Tour de France victory was thrown into question by a positive test for high testosterone following his gritty performance in stage 17 of the race.
"My immediate reaction was to look for the alcohol bottle," joked Landis, who's known to enjoy a beer while on the Tour and said he drank some whiskey with teammates the night before he staked his stunning comeback in the Alps.
Suspended
The Phonak team suspended Landis, pending results from a backup sample. If found guilty, Landis could be stripped of the Tour title and fired from the team.
"At the exact moment I was told, every single scenario went through my head about what was going to happen," he said. "There was no way for me to tell myself that this wasn't going to be a disaster."
Second-place finisher Oscar Pereiro, who would become champion if Landis is not cleared, said he was in no mood to celebrate.
"Should I win the Tour now it would feel like an academic victory," Pereiro told the AP at his home in Vigo, Spain. "The way to celebrate a win is in Paris, otherwise it's just a bureaucratic win."
The Swiss-based Phonak team said it was notified by the International Cycling Union (UCI) on Wednesday that Landis' sample showed "an unusual level of testosterone/epitestosterone" when he was tested last Thursday.
After falling behind the pack the day before, Landis made a remarkable comeback during that Alpine stage, racing far ahead of the field for a solo win that moved him from 11th to third overall.
Doesn't know what did it
Asked repeatedly what might have tripped his test, Landis refused to lay blame on any one thing. "As to what actually caused it on that particular day, I can only speculate," he said.
Landis had an exemption from the Tour to take cortisone shots for pain in his hip, which will require surgery for a degenerative condition, and was taking an oral medication for hyperthyroidism. He and his doctor were consulting with experts to see if those drugs might have thrown off his testosterone levels.
Landis said he wouldn't be surprised if people were skeptical of him and the sport of cycling, but he pleaded for time to clear his name.
"All I'm asking for," he said, "is that I be given a chance to prove that I'm innocent. Cycling has a traditional way of trying people in the court of public opinion before they get a chance to do anything else."
Backup sample
The UCI said Wednesday that an unidentified rider had failed a drug test during the Tour. The team said Landis would ask for an analysis of his backup sample "to prove either that this result is coming from a natural process or that this is resulting from a mistake."
It wasn't immediately known when the backup sample will be tested, but Phonak manager John Lelangue said the team would ask for that to happen in the next few days.
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