Expert’s report concludes that Jeanson produces “false positives”

Geneviève Jeanson accepts

offer to settle from the USADA

Montreal, November 28, 2006 – Canadian cyclist and U.S. resident Geneviève Jeanson has announced that she has accepted an offer to settle from the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) related to a urine sample taken July 25, 2005, which tested positive for erythropoietin (EPO).

After initially seeking a life suspension, USADA offered Ms. Jeanson a reduction of her ineligibility period to two years beginning July 25, 2005 and ending next July 25.

The agreement stipulates that neither party is changing its respective position. It says explicitly that the agreement does not constitute an admission to the use of EPO by Ms. Jeanson. The purpose of the agreement is “to take into account all of the circumstances of the matter and to avoid the mutual burden of going forward with the AAA/CAS hearing.” The full text of the agreement may be found here.

“After careful consideration, I’ve decided to accept USADA’s offer,” explained Ms. Jeanson. “The proposed agreement satisfies my two main concerns :

• First of all, it is clearly indicated that the agreement does not mean that I admit to having used EPO, which is a crucial point for me.

• Second, I will finally be finished with this dispute, which has been taking far too much space in my life, draining all my energy for many months. I’ve learned the hard way the meaning of the proverb – ‘a bad agreement is better than a good lawsuit’. If I go into arbitration, win or lose, I shudder at the mere thought of the possible appeals. USADA’s offer allows me to get on with my life.”

“I have never in my entire career taken EPO, or any other banned substance,” repeated Ms. Jeanson. “After the USADA informed me that I had tested positive in July 2005, I did some research to figure out how this could have happened. I secured the help of a reputable professor and researcher at Ghent University in Belgium, Dr. Joris Delanghe. I am very grateful that he graciously offered to investigate my case.”

False-positive samples

Dr. Delanghe’s work has already shown that some athletes produce urine samples that generate false positives to EPO when the samples are collected after strenuous exercise – as was the case with Ms. Jeanson’s urine sample on July 25, 2005. She provided the urine sample just after completing the very challenging prologue to the International Tour de Toona at an average speed of more than 40 km/h.

Dr. Delanghe’s research has already exonerated Belgian triathlete Rutger Beke by demonstrating that he produced false positives.

Dr. Delanghe analyzed the circumstances around the collection and analysis of the sample on July 25, 2005. He also took urine samples from Ms. Jeanson after strenuous exercise and subjected it to the appropriate tests.

Dr. Delanghe produced an expert report, a copy of which was submitted to the USADA in the course of the preparation for the AAA/CAS hearing.

Dr. Delanghe came to the four following conclusions:

• The pre-analysis quality of the sample collected on July 25, 2005 was not sufficient to obtain a reliable analysis result.

• In the case of severe exercised-induced proteinuria (like in Jeanson’s case), there is a serious concern about the validity of the EPO test.

• The negative results of a sample taken three days later [note: by the World Anti- Doping Agency] question the positivity of the July 25 sample.

• A detailed analysis of the pherogram suggests the presence of EPO-like proteins in Ms. Jeanson’s urine.

The report further states, “Genevieve Jeanson produces specific urinary proteins which are cross reacting with monoclonal antibody AE7A5 as used in the epo test by UCLA.”

(The summary can be found here)

“I know that I’ll never be able to convince everyone of my innocence,” Ms. Jeanson said. “Innocence cannot be proven. But Dr. Delanghe’s work has shed light on the probable causes of the incident on July 25. I want to thank him for his interest in my case, as I would like to thank everyone who helped and supported me during this difficult period of my life.”

When asked about whether she will return to competition, Ms. Jeanson replied, “I’m 25 and I still have a lot of good years ahead of me. But accepting the USADA’s offer was a difficult decision. Other decisions will wait.”

Source : Daniel Larouche

Larouche Consultant Inc.



Put on line on November 28, 2006 by SVP



