After months of previews, the long-awaited Floyd Landis Show hits the courtroom this morning at a public arbitration hearing expected to last a couple of weeks at Pepperdine University in Malibu.
Landis will be fighting for his cycling life against charges issued by the US Anti-Doping Agency that he doped during the 2006 Tour de France.
It will be the first time that such an arbitration hearing to determine an athlete's future will be open to the public. I'm hoping to read informative first-hand coverage online, and I'll be looking specifically to the cycling press.
Lab reports
If Landis can convince at least two of the three judges that the French lab reports are hinkey, then he'll be able to race again.
But if the USADA prosecutors prevail — they do have a 34-0 record going into the hearing — then Landis would receive a two-year suspension from professional cycling and officially lose his 2006 Tour de France title.
Those who know about such things say whatever the decision of the panel (at least two of the three must agree), the losing side will probably appeal the case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport. That means a final decision for Landis is months away.
3 judge panel
One of the interesting things to me about this hearing is the make-up of the three judge panel. One member is chosen by the USADA, one member is chosen by Landis, and those two pick a third member.
Landis chose Boston attorney Chris Campbell, who also sat on the Tyler Hamilton panel and voted in Hamilton's favor. USADA chose Canadian attorney Richard McLaren, and the two chose another Canada, Patrice Brunet, as the third member.
The hearing runs from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. (PT) Monday through May 23, including Saturday May 19. Only pre-selected media and a small number of visitors with reservations can attend the sessions, according to a press release from Pepperdine.
Where to check
VeloNews should be a good place to check daily coverage, as sports attorney and cyclist Antonio Gallegos will provide analysis of the proceedings. The Trust but Verify blog has been a news breaker in this case and should remain a good one-stop-shop for information being printed about the case.
Among the traditional media, the Los Angeles Times and New York Times have been covering the case in-depth and should be good sources to check.
It's also probably worth checking the Floyd Landis website and the Floyd Fairness Fund for news releases.
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