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NEW YORK, March 19, 2008 (AFP) - US cyclist Floyd Landis, stripped of his
2006 Tour de France victory for doping, began making his appeal to a three-man
panel from the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) here on Wednesday.
The private hearing is expected to continue through Monday with no comments
from any of the participants, both Landis and the US Anti-Doping Agency
(USADA) having agreed to the closed-door session unlike last May’s open US
hearing.
Landis, 32, has denied wrongdoing and fought his positive test for steroid
testosterone on July 20, 2006, but a USADA arbitration panel ruled 2-1 against
him last September, resulting in a two-year ban through January 29, 2009.
The International Cycling Union stripped Landis of his 2006 crown after
that verdict, awarding the title to Spain’s Oscar Pereiro.
In a Manhattan law office, Landis will make much the same case as he did
last year, attacking the credibility of the French laboratory which handled
his doping samples, and hope the global panel sees matters differently.
The CAS appeal board includes David Williams of New Zealand, Paris attorney
Jan Paulsson and New York lawyer David Rizkin.
Swiss-based CAS will announce its binding ruling from Lausanne after
completion of the hearing and consideration of the evidence presented.
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.
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 issues.