Landis also rejects request to test other samples
Floyd Landis promised French anti-doping authorities on Thursday that he won't race in the upcoming Tour de France, or any French bike race, this year.
In return, the French anti-doping agency said it would postpone its case against Landis until after the US Anti-Doping Agency rules on the charges.
This should be a surprise to no one. Here it is February. Landis has no team, he's running around the country trying to raise money for his defense, he's still trying to get back into shape after hip surgery last fall, and he has already been quoted that he's “pretty much” ruled out cycling for this season. I'd say no 2007 Tour de France for Landis was a foregone conclusion.
But that promise was what the French anti-doping agency wanted to hear. Otherwise it would have gone ahead with its hearing regarding the doping allegations against Landis from last year's Tour de France. Apparently the French board didn't think the US was moving fast enough on the Landis case.
But now we have a date for the long-awaited hearing in the US. A May 14 date has been scheduled for Landis and the US Anti-Doping Agency to lay out their respective cases before an American Arbitration Association panel. If found guilty of doping, Landis could lose his Tour de France title (yes, he's still the TdF winner of record), and undergo a two-year suspension from pro cycling.
A decision for or against Landis would likely be appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport by the losing party.
In the letter French authorities, quoted in CyclingNews, Landis said:
“Let me assure you that I fully share the goal of preventing illegal doping… In this case, and in order to avoid any misunderstanding, I agree voluntarily not to participate in any professional or amateur cycling event in France until December 31, 2007, and in particular the Tour de France 2007.”
Meanwhile, French newspaper L'Equipe reported that the Landis defense team has turned down a USADA request that Landis' remaining B samples from the Tour de France be tested for exogenous testosterone, even though his A samples had been cleared. (Landis was tested 6 times at the Tour; only one set of samples indicated doping, which Landis has vehemently denied.)
The Trust But Verify blgo says US authorities “were attempting to bleed Landis” by forcing him to send his experts to another round of testing.
Landis told a fund-raiser last night in New York that he had only enough money to sustain his legal defense for two or three months. A legal defense fund for Landis is set up at Floyd Fairness Fund.
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