US Tour de France winner Floyd Landis insisted on Thursday he was not a drugs cheat despite failing a dope test which threatens to see him stripped of his title and sacked from his team.
"No, c'mon man," Landis told Sports Illustrated Web site SI.com when asked if he did it.
The 30-year-old tested positive for testosterone, his Phonak team said. They also insisted that he would be sacked if the B sample confirmed the result.
Landis, the third US rider to win the race, could also become the first champion in the history of the Tour de France to be stripped of his title.
He said he "can't be hopeful" that the B sample would clear him.
"I'm a realist," he said. "I wouldn't hold it against somebody if they don't believe me."
The news that Landis had tested positive sent shockwaves through cycling, a sport which has fought a long battle to kick out the cheats and to clear its tarnished reputation.
Phonak team boss John Lelangue said he still had faith in Landis but would be obliged to apply the team's ethics code.
"We are surprised by the result but we will apply the procedure of the ethics code that we have signed," he said. "If the result from the B sample confirms the first result, there will be dismissal."
The Swiss-based team said in a statement that it was notified by the International Cycling Union (UCI) on Wednesday of "an unusual level of Testosterone/Epitestosteron ratio in the test made on Floyd Landis after stage 17 of the Tour de France."
That was the stage that saw Landis claim victory after a staggering 130km solo breakaway -- a day after he had collapsed on the 16th stage and had tumbled down to 11th place overall, 8:08 minutes behind Spaniard Oscar Pereiro.
The Spaniard, who finished second overall, will be promoted to champion if Landis is kicked out.
"I would prefer to keep second place and that the first dope test wasn't confirmed," admitted the Caisse d'Epargne-Iles Baleares team rider.
Tour de France organizers said they were stunned by the news and a statement said: "If the B sample test confirms the first result, anger and sadness will dominate the feelings of all of those who had been filled with enthusiasm for the Tour de France of 2006."
The news came as mystery surrounded the whereabouts of the AUS champion after he withdrew from two races in the Netherlands and Denmark the day after UCI announced a rider on the Tour had failed a doping test.
The ANP Dutch news agency said Landis pulled out of a race in Chaam on Wednesday on medical advice but his reason for not appearing was not confirmed by race organizers.
Landis also pulled out of Thursday's Grand Prix Jyske Bank race, the Danish organizers said in a statement.
Landis did win the Stiphout criterium in the Netherlands on Tuesday night.
RSS