July 28 (Bloomberg) -- Tour de France champion Floyd Landis said today that the high levels of testosterone found in his system during the race occurred naturally.

``I ask first that the case not be treated directly as a doping case,'' the 30-year-old American told a news conference in Madrid. ``Second, I'll undergo all the tests to show that the levels were natural. Until such research is carried out, I ask not to be judged or sentenced.''

Landis would become the first winner of cycling's premier event to be stripped of the title for drug use if the second portion of his urine test confirms a violation. The results may take at least two weeks, according to the sport's ruling body.

The past three winners of cycling's major races are now linked with taking drugs to boost their performance. Roberto Heras, who won the Tour of Spain, has been banned. Ivan Basso, one of nine riders implicated in a blood-doping scandal, won the Giro d'Italia and was suspended on the eve of the Tour de France. Race favorite Jan Ullrich was also suspended. Basso and Ullrich deny wrongdoing.

Landis, from Farmersville, Pennsylvania, said he plans to prove his innocence.

``My physiological parameters for testosterone and epitestosterone are naturally high,'' he said. ``Therefore, I would like to make it absolutely clear that this is not in any way a doping process.''

Second Sample

He was suspended from racing, pending the result of tests on the second part of his urine sample, his Phonak team said yesterday. Landis said he will ask ``within hours'' for the second sample to be tested.

``You would normally then expect it to take two weeks, but it's summer and the lab people are on holiday,'' Enrico Carpani, a spokesman for the International Cycling Union, or UCI, said in a phone interview. ``We all have to get together -- the labs, the rider and the UCI.''

Drug tests are conducted on urine samples divided into two parts, with one tested and the other initially sealed. If the first part shows the presence of banned drugs, the second part is tested, with the athlete able to be present and provide a defense. If the second test is positive and no mitigating circumstances are found, the athlete faces punishment, usually a two-year suspension for a first offense and loss of records. Positive cases may be taken to arbitration.

`Strongest Guy'

Landis succeeded another American, record seven-time champion Lance Armstrong, as winner of the sport's premier event, winning by 57 seconds from Spain's Oscar Pereiro in the race that ended in Paris on July 23.

Landis's testosterone reading was recorded after he won the 17th stage by more than five minutes, riding solo for 130 kilometers (80.8 miles) to get back in contention after falling more than eight minutes behind the leaders the previous day. He was tested on six other occasions during the three-week race.

``I was the strongest guy in the stage and in that race, and I deserved to win,'' he said. ``The day before, I didn't race as hard as the other guys.''

Testosterone is a naturally occurring male hormone that is banned in most sports as a strength builder when it is found in certain levels. The amount of testosterone in an athlete's body is measured against another naturally occurring substance, epitestosterone, which usually is present in a 1-to-1 ratio

``Testosterone makes you far more aggressive and able to withstand pain,'' Professor Joe Collier, head of medicines policy at St. George's Hospital medical school in London, said in an interview. ``It ties in entirely with his performance on that day. It was extraordinary.''

New Hip

Landis had received permission from race officials to get a cortisone shot, normally banned in the sport, to deal with the pain of a hip injury, the New York Times reported July 10. He has said he plans to have hip-replacement surgery.

He also said in a conference call earlier today that he had been taking a daily dose of thyroid hormone for a medical condition.

Drug abuse has shadowed the Tour de France for years. In 1967, British rider Tom Simpson died of heart failure and heat exhaustion on Mont Ventoux after taking amphetamines.

In 1998, French cyclist Richard Virenque's Festina squad was expelled from the event after drugs were found in a team car. Four years later, the wife of Lithuania's Raimondas Rumsas was arrested for carrying banned doping products on the day her husband clinched third place. She received a suspended four- month jail sentence last January.

The only Tour champion so far to lose the title was Maurice Garin, who was disqualified from the second edition in 1904 for taking a train over part of the route. Landis said he expects to retain the champion's yellow jersey.

``When I heard, I was surprised and disappointed, but I'm as confident as ever,'' he said.

To contact the reporter on this story: Charles Penty in Madrid at at

Last Updated: July 28, 2006 12:37 EDT