Disgraced cyclist Floyd Landis will face the Court of Arbitration for Sport in New York City in one week's time. There, on March 19, the American will present his case to regain the 2006 Tour de France crown that was stripped from the former Phonak rider when he lost his appeal to the American Arbitration Association to overturn the sanction for his positive drug test from the race.
"It will be a hearing behind closed doors unlike the previous arbitration hearing," CAS secretary-general Matthieu Reeb told AP.
The CAS hearing is expected to run until March 24 in the chambers of a Manhattan law firm. It's not known when a final ruling on the matter will be announced. "There will be a statement at the end of the hearing to say when it will be issued," Reeb said.
Landis' CAS appeal gives Frank Sinatra's line "It's up to you - New York, New York" a whole new meaning, with the Court representing Landis' last chance to clear his name. Landis appealed to the AAA after testing positive for synthetic testosterone during the Tour's stage 17 in 2006, where reporters described his effort as "a comeback that defied logic."
The three-member arbitration panel at last year's hearing, led by president Patrice Brunet along with Christopher Campbell and Richard McLaren, was split 2-1 in the guilty verdict, with Campbell dissenting. The finding saw the UCI hand Landis a two-year ban, due to finish at the end of January in 2009.
Tour organiser Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO) held a presentation late last year to formally award original runner up Oscar Pereiro (Caisse d'Epargne) with the event's yellow jersey.
Cyclingnews' coverage of the Floyd Landis case
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