Interesting since these tests are new...

'I'm 100 Percent Innocent', Says Hamilton
By Mark Ledsom
ZURICH (Reuters) - Olympic champion Tyler Hamilton said on Tuesday he was "100 percent innocent" as the Phonak rider responded to testing positive for blood transfusions.

"I'm devastated to be here tonight. My family, team, friends are all devastated and one thing I can guarantee you is I'm 100 percent innocent," the American told reporters at a news conference held by his Phonak cycling team.

"I've been accused of taking blood from another person. Anyone who knows me knows that is completely impossible.
"I can tell you what I did and did not put into my body. Cycling is very important to me but not that important. If I ever had to do that (doping) I'd hang the bike on the rack."

Hamilton said he was informed by the International Cycling Union (UCI) last Thursday that he had tested positive at the Tour of Spain for having a blood transfusion.

The 33-year-old was told on Saturday by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) that he had also tested positive for having a blood transfusion at last month's Athens Games.

"The two tests are alleged to show a similar method of doping," Hamilton said at a news conference.
If found guilty Hamilton would be the first athlete caught for a blood transfusion.
Hamilton won the Olympic time trial gold medal and the eighth stage of the Tour of Spain -- a time trial -- on September 11. He withdrew from the Vuelta on Friday citing an upset stomach.

"I can guarantee you the (Olympic) gold medal will be staying in my living room until I don't have a cent left," said Hamilton. "I've worked hard for it and it's not going anywhere."

PROBABILITY TEST
Blood transfusions are believed to have been widely used in cycling but there has, until now, been no way to detect them.

New tests are thought to have been introduced for the Tour de France but asked to confirm the timing a UCI spokesman said: "We are refusing to comment on this."

Phonak chief executive officer Andreas Rihs, casting doubt on the reliability of the tests, said the team would stand behind Hamilton even if the 'B' tests were positive.

"We don't fire innocent people and if the 'B' test is positive as well we'll still stand behind Tyler. We believe Tyler independent of these results.

"We don't believe the test is reliable. It's more of a probability test. We have scientific papers that question the reliability of these tests.

"We think this test (at the Tour of Spain), or the IOC test at least, were done sloppily. The IOC test is suspect because it (the result) came out one month after it was done."

Hamilton finished fourth in the 2003 Tour de France despite breaking his collar bone in a crash at the end of the first stage. He used to support Lance Armstrong on the U.S. Postal team before leaving in 2001 to become team leader with CSC Tiscali.

Swiss cyclist Oscar Camenzind, who raced for Phonak, was banned for two years after testing positive for EPO shortly before the Athens Games. Camenzind was the 1998 world road race champion and he retired after the positive test was revealed.