By Steve Medcroft
Howard Jacobs, attorney for 2006 Tour de France champion Floyd Landis, announced on Friday that he will formally request that the US Anti Doping Agency drop its case against Floyd Landis and cease any further disciplinary action.
Jacobs says that after reviewing 370 pages of documentation provided by the LNDD laboratory at Chatenay-Malabry, he and the Landis legal team have found inconsisencies in the the way the athlete's positive Tour de France urine sample was handled that call into question the validity of the results they produced.
"In our review of the documents detailing the tests on both the ‘A’ and ‘B’ sample, we have found evidence that supports our request for USADA to drop the doping charges against Landis," Jacobs said in an article posted on the athlete's Web site; www.floydlandis.com. "While I cannot comment on the full details of our findings, we now have the foundation for a very strong defense should the case proceed to arbitration."
Jacobs also added that should USADA proceed with presenting a case before arbitration against Landis, who has protested the initial negative test results and asserted his innocence throughout the process, they will ask for the entire proceedings to be made public. "Once again, we are asking for complete transparency in this process. Floyd has maintained his innocence from the outset and what we have found in the official document package points to a premature public conviction before all of the evidence could be considered," Jacobs said.
Cyclingnews' coverage of the Floyd Landis case
September 28, 2008 - Landis takes case to US federal court
September 10, 2008 - Landis signing with current Health Net-Maxxis team for 2009
July 1, 2008 - CAS delivers final blow to Landis legal challenge
June 30, 2008 - Landis loses final appeal
June 28, 2008 - Landis decision due Monday
March 12, 2008 - Landis' judgment day nears
October 21, 2007 - Landis files appeal with CAS
October 18, 2007 - AFLD takes another look at Landis case
Thursday, October 11 - Landis continues fight, appeals to CAS
Saturday, September 22 - UCI officially names Pereiro 2006 Tour champion, Landis case raises issues
Friday, September 21 - Landis' appeal denied, two year suspension levied
Cyclingnews' complete coverage of the Floyd Landis case
