Landis is serving a two year ban (Image credit: AFP)
On the eve of the Tour de France, and just under two years after he stood atop the final podium in Paris, Floyd Landis may at long last have resolution of his doping case. Currently serving a two year suspension for his testosterone positive, Landis appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) to overturn the sanction, and he will finally get a decision on the case on Monday, June 30, the court announced Friday.
Landis tested positive for synthetic testosterone use after his epic solo breakaway on stage 17 in the 2006 Tour, and was stripped of his title after losing an appeal to the United States Anti-doping Agency last fall (USADA).
Landis has contested the charges, citing numerous mistakes in the paperwork from the French anti-doping laboratory and questioning its interpretation of the results. His long and drawn out hearing with USADA went 2-1 in against Landis. The arbitrators acknowledged that there were issues with the testing and were critical of the lab, but ultimately decided the problems were not sufficient to nullify the outcome.
The UCI officially named Oscar Pereiro the 2006 Tour champion the following day.
Despite having sunk a large amount of money into the failed USADA arbitration, Landis decided to take his case to the CAS in hopes that his argument would sway that court to overturn his positive test. Landis' two year suspension ends on January 30, 2009.
After the circus-like atmosphere of the USADA hearing, the CAS arbitration was conducted behind closed doors in March. The arbitrators heard 35 hours of testimony at a New York law office, and have taken more than three months to arrive at a decision.
Cyclingnews' coverage of the Floyd Landis case
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