Tour 'no longer considers Landis champion'

(CNN) -- The second urine sample of Tour de France champion Floyd Landis confirmed a high ratio of testosterone in the American's body before his victory, the International Cycling Union announced Saturday.

Landis was fired by his team and the Tour de France said it no longer considered him its champion Saturday.

But Landis, who says he has not used performance-enhancing substances and maintains that he will be vindicated of the charges, said he will fight to clear his name.

Both the first and second urine samples taken July 20 this year -- in the midst of the renowned cycling race -- came back showing a high ratio of testosterone, the ICU said.

The samples also contained synthetic testosterone, indicating that the substance came from an outside source.

"I have never taken any banned substance, including testosterone. I was the strongest man in the Tour de France, and that is why I am the champion," said Landis.

"I will fight these charges with the same determination and intensity that I bring to my training and racing. It is now my goal to clear my name and restore what I worked so hard to achieve."

The cyclist also said he plans to seek an appeal of the procedures established by the ICU in order to overturn the laboratory results.

Landis' attorney, Howard Jacobs, has started preparing the case for arbitration.

"In consultation with some of the leading medical and scientific experts, we will prove that Floyd Landis's victory in the 2006 Tour de France was not aided in any respect by the use of any banned substances," said Jacobs.

If Landis is ultimately found guilty, he would be stripped of his Tour de France title, a development that could ruin his career.

Tour de France director Christian Prudhomme said Landis "can no longer be the winner of the Tour de France 2006" and said the fight against doping is resolute "because the yellow jersey shouldn't be blemished."

"I cannot announce (the winner) because that is not up to the organizers -- it depends on the UCI that has to ask the cycling federation -- in this case, the U.S. cycling federation, to investigate the matter.

"But clearly for us, Landis' name shouldn't be written on the scoreboard as the winner of the 2006 Tour. Formally this will take weeks, months."

Shortly after results were released, Landis' Swiss team dropped him as team captain without notice for violating the team's internal code of ethics, Phonak Cycling Team said on their Web site.

The statement said owner Andy Rihs "deeply regrets this development" and is working with all involved parties to see" what consequences this may have for his company ARcycling AG, the operator of the Phonak Cycling Team."

Rihs and team manager John Lelangue said they will hold a news conference in coming days.

Landis has claimed the testosterone was "natural and produced by my own organism."

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