MADRID, Spain - Floyd Landis says he has naturally high testosterone levels, and asks not to be judged until a study can show he is innocent of doping at the Tour de France.
Landis is giving a news conference in Madrid about the positive doping result that threatens to wipe out the American's victory in the Tour de France, his lawyer's office said.
It is the American cyclist's first public appearance since Thursday's announcement by his team, Phonak, that he tested positive for abnormal levels of testosterone after the 17th stage of the Tour.
Landis denied any wrongdoing in a teleconference with reporters on Thursday and vowed to clear his name.
"All I'm asking for is that I be given a chance to prove I'm innocent," he said.
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.
News of Landis' positive test shocked the cycling world, which has been under a cloud following a wide-ranging doping investigation in Spain that led to the barring of several of the world's leading cyclists from the tournament.
On the eve of the Tour's start, nine riders - including pre-race favorites Jan Ullrich and Ivan Basso - were ousted, implicated in a Spanish doping investigation.
The names of Ullrich and Basso turned up on a list of 56 cyclists who allegedly had contact with Spanish doctor Eufemiano Fuentes, who's at the center of the Spanish doping probe. Landis was not implicated in that investigation.
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