Floyd Landis Set For Last Appeal of Doping Ban, Stripped Tour Title
NEW YORK, March 18, 2008 (AFP) - US cyclist Floyd Landis, stripped of his 2006 Tour de France victory for doping, makes his appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) Wednesday in a do-or-die bid to regain his title.
The 32-year-old American has spent about two million dollars in fighting the positive doping test for steroid testosterone on July 20, 2006, but lost a 2-1 ruling before a US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) arbitration panel last September.
The International Cycling Union stripped Landis of his 2006 crown after that verdict, awarding the title to Spain’s Oscar Pereiro, who finished 57 seconds behind Landis in second place in the 2006 Tour.
Landis, whose ban runs until next January 29, will make his final stand in a Manhattan law office behind closed doors in a hearing expected to run five days and present much of the same evidence as was heard by the USADA panel last May.
The Swiss-based court eventually will announce its binding ruling from Lausanne.
Landis tested positive for synthetic testosterone after the penultimate 17th stage of the 2006 race. He fell back in stage 16 but rallied in stage 17 to reclaim almost eight minutes on his way to a now-disgraced victory moment.
Landis has maintained his innocence despite the positive test, blaming mistakes in testing procedure by the French laboratory for the result during his USADA hearing, which was open to the public.
“I am innocent of the doping allegations against me. I hope that the arbitrators of the case will fairly address the facts showing that the French laboratory made mistakes, which resulted in a false positive,” Landis said after announcing his appeal to CAS last October.
“Knowing that the accusations against me are simply wrong, and having risked all my energy and resources - including those of my family, friends and supporters - to show clearly that I won the 2006 Tour de France fair and square, I will continue to fight for what I know is right.”
Landis attorney Maurice Suh has said he thinks the evidence presented by his team to a US panel at the earlier hearing was enough to exonerate Landis and will have a chance to test that idea before a global panel.
“We’ve always believed in the evidence showing that the French laboratory’s flawed techniques and conclusions resulted in a false positive result,” Suh said.
“This appeal is directed at having a fair-minded arbitration panel recognize those errors and apply the facts and law to this case. If this is done, Floyd will have the justice that he seeks.”
The USADA arbitration panel noted several areas in which the French lab’s handling of the test sample was improper but said the carbon ratio isotope test that showed Landis testing positive outweighed those flaws.
Chronology of events in Landis doping case:
A chronology of events in the case of Floyd Landis, who will take his battle against a doping charge that saw him stripped of his 2006 Tour de France title to the Court of Arbitration for
Sport:
2006
July 19: Landis loses the Tour de France yellow jersey after a disastrous stage 16 in the Alps. He falls more than eight minutes behind leader Oscar Pereiro of Spain.
July 20: Landis relaunches his bid for the Tour de France yellow jersey in spectacular style, winning the 17th stage after a daring raid of 130km. His stage win puts him just 30 seconds behind race leader Pereiro.
July 23: A day after seizing the yellow jersey in the time trial, Landis becomes the third US cyclist to win the Tour de France.
July 27: International Cycling Union (UCI) announce an unidentified Tour de France rider has tested positive for a performance-enhancing substance. Landis prompts speculation when he withdraws from races in Denmark and the Netherlands. Landis’s Phonak team confirms his “A” sample tested positive for an abnormal level of testosterone.
July 27: Landis denies doping in a teleconference with US reporters.
July 31: The New York Times quotes an anonymous source as saying Landis’s “A” sample showed the presence of synthetic testosterone.
Aug 5: UCI say Landis’s “B” sample confirms the “A” result. Phonak sacks him. Tour de France officials declare they no longer consider him the race champion, although he can’t be stripped of the title until the adjudication process is complete.
Aug 15: Phonak owner Andy Rihs announces he is disbanding the team.
Sept 9: US Anti-Doping Agency denies motion by Landis lawyer Howard Jacobs to dismiss the case.
Sept 29: Landis undergoes hip replacement surgery.
October 12: Landis posts hundreds of pages of technical documents related to his case on his website, along with a presentation by doctor Arnie Baker outlining what Landis’s camp believes are scientific and clerical errors in the testing. The website posting is followed by a series of public appearances drumming up public support and funding for Landis’s defense.
December: USADA requests permission to test Landis’s seven backup samples to “A” samples from the Tour de France that originally tested clean.
2007
January 12: The French Anti-Doping Agency summons Landis but agrees to delay its probe until after Landis’s USADA arbitration is completed.
April: Arbitrators vote 2-1 to allow testing of Landis “B” samples at the French lab that conducted original Tour de France tests. Results may possibly be used as evidence, although they can’t be considered positive results.
French sports daily L’Equipe quotes an anonymous source as saying several of the samples showed the presence of synthetic testosterone. Landis camp claims its observers were denied access to testing and analysis.
May: Nine-day arbitration hearing conducted where Landis and USADA present their case to a three-person arbitration panel.
Sept 20: Arbitration decision announced, 2-1 against Landis. International Cycling Union later strips Landis of Tour de France victory.
Oct 10: Landis announces he will appeal the US arbitration decision to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
2008
March 19: Landis appeal to be heard by a Court of Arbitration for Sport
panel in New York
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Its a shame that the events of the past few years have done so much harm to the Tour de France in the eyes of American sports fans. I believe Landis is clean. I hope that this gets righted. With the Landis case and one of the best American Tour Challengers (Levi) not being allowed to race this year who knows what impact that will have. It might not be that bad to the Tour organizers but its not good either.