This Type Of Blood Doping, We Can Get Behind

So Tour de France winner / testosterone ratio out-of-whacker Floyd Landis called a press conference today to defend himself against the charge of elevating his testosterone. His explanation, as far as we're concerned, is brilliant.

The night before Stage 17, Mr. Landis said, while gathered with friends and teammates, he prepared for the strenuous mountain stage by drinking two beers and at least four shots of whiskey. The revelation that Mr. Landis was drinking the night before the test could be significant. According to several studies, alcohol consumption can increase the ratio between testosterone and epitestosterone, which occur naturally in the body. Mr. Landis failed the test because it showed an elevated ratio between the two.

We'll be honest: This was the first we had heard of this "elevated testosterone ratio because of heavy drinking" story. This not only changes our perception of Landis, it changes our perception of all athletes. From now on, any athlete with an unbalanced testosterone/epitestosterone ratio, we're buying his/her jersey.

Tour Winner Floyd Landis Denies Taking Drugs, Does Say He Drank [WSJ.com]

(UPDATE: Here's a very instructive look at whether Landis "failed" a drug test at all.)