Floyd Landis stands to lose his Tour prize (Image credit: Sirotti)
American cyclist Floyd Landis, who is facing antidoping hearings in both the US and in France, has lost nearly $10 million (US) in the fight to clear his name of charges that he used testosterone during the 2006 Tour de France, according to the Bloomberg news agency. Landis, who has repeatedly asserted his innocence, faces a two year sanction and a four year ban from riding for a ProTour team if he is found guilty of doping violations.
Landis has been criss-crossing the United States, making appearances in order to try and raise money for his defence with the help of an organisation called the Floyd Fairness Fund. The fund has raised close to $500,000, according to Landis spokesperson Michael Henson, speaking at the Tour de Georgia last week.
According to the article, his legal expenses have already reached $1 million, and with $3 million lost with his terminated Phonak contract, and $2 million in lost endorsements along with nearly $4 million in prospective sponsorships, his losses have reached eight figures. He also stands to lose €600,000 in Tour de France prize money, currently frozen, which he will forfeit if he loses his case.
Landis' arbitration hearing with the US Antidoping Agency (USADA) is scheduled for May 14, and while his legal team requested the date be moved to a later date after receiving word that further tests on his Tour de France urine samples revealed additional traces of synthetic testosterone, no revised date has been announced.
