Landis files final appeal to clear his name
Court of Arbitration for Sport will likely hear case early in 2008
 Lucy Nicholson / Reuters file | Floyd Landis filed his final appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport as he tries to regain the 2006 Tour de France title that was stripped because of a positive doping test. |
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July 5-27 |
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Floyd Landis filed his appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport on Tuesday, setting in motion his last chance to regain the 2006 Tour de France title that was stripped because of a positive doping test.
Landis, who lost his arbitration hearing in September, promised last month that he would appeal the decision to CAS, which likely will hear the case early next year.
The introduction to the 90-page brief Landis’ attorneys submitted to CAS said Landis fully supports ongoing efforts to eradicate doping in cycling.
“However, to wrongly strip a champion of his victory due to a flawed test is much worse than to have an athlete cheat his way to victory,” the introduction read. “To ensure a fair process and to protect against the travesty of wrongfully convicting a person for an act he or she did not commit, the anti-doping system must strike an adequate balance between the need for accuracy and reliability of laboratory test results and fairness in sports.”
Last month, a panel sponsored by the American Arbitration Association ruled against Landis, upholding the results of a test that showed he used synthetic testosterone to fuel his spectacular comeback Tour victory. That decision meant Landis had to forfeit his title and is subject to a two-year ban, retroactive to Jan. 30.
By a 2-1 decision, the arbitrators ruled against Landis even though the majority found numerous problems with procedures followed at the French lab that analyzed his urine.
Travis Tygart, the CEO of the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency that prosecuted the case, said he expected the brief to be filed.
“I don’t really have any comment on it,” he said. “It’s a right afforded them under the rules, and they’ve elected to go forward.”
Landis’ first appeal was estimated to cost around $2 million. The hearing in front of CAS likely would reach a six-figure cost, though not into the millions because much of the evidence already has been established and heard.
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“We welcome the opportunity to present this case to CAS,” Suh said. “We will prove, once again, that the French laboratory’s work violated numerous rules and proper procedure, rendering its results meaningless and inaccurate. We are optimistic that CAS will agree, and stop the miscarriage of justice that resulted from the earlier arbitration proceeding.”
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