Category: Floyd Landis Watch

Floyd Landis doping case begins today

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. …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2007/05/14/floyd-landis-doping-case-begins-today/

Landis finger Armstrong? No way!

Memo to the US Anti-Doping Agency:  You do not ask someone who has just won the Tour de France to rat out a former teammate who has won it 7 times and whose reputation is up there somewhere next to Mother Theresa.

But, according to Floyd Landis, the USADA lead attorney Travis Tygart approached Landis' attorney Howard Jacobs with such an offer last year.

Landis said Thursday that Tygart had told Jacobs that Landis could walk away from these doping allegations with “the shortest suspension they've ever given an athlete” if Landis could provide information on Lance Armstrong. …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2007/05/11/landis-finger-armstrong-no-way/

French lab alleges more evidence of doping in Floyd Landis samples

A French anti-doping laboratory has found synthetic testosterone in seven “B” samples taken from Floyd Landis during the 2006 Tour de France.

Landis, who has long-criticized the procedures at the lab, immediately said a representative of his defense team was blocked from entering the lab to observe technicians perform some of the tests. See FloydLandis.com.

The follow-up tests were ordered by the US Anti-Doping Agency, which is preparing a case against Landis, who was found to have a high testosterone/epitestosterone ratio after one stage of the Tour de France.

Probably a surprise to no one, the results were leaked to the French newspaper L'Equipe, which appears to be the publishing arm of the Laboratoire National de Dépistage du Dopage. No one else has seen the results. …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2007/04/23/french-lab-alleges-more-evidence-of-doping-in-floyd-landis-samples/

Landis' “clean” samples to get another look

Cyclist Floyd Landis' attorneys are objecting to a ruling that allows retesting of his Tour de France urine samples that had previously been found to be negative.

To add insult to injury, the samples will be retested at the same French laboratory where Landis alleges mistakes were made that resulted in positive results on “A” and “B” urine samples and led to charges of blood-doping against the 2006 Tour de France winner.

Landis has been battling the doping charges since shortly after the conclusion of the Tour de France. If he loses his upcoming case (scheduled to begin May 14 in Malibu) and any subsequent appeals, he would be stripped of his Tour de France championship and be banned from professional cycling for two years. …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2007/04/12/landis-clean-samples-to-get-another-look/

Frankie Andreu says he's unsure about Landis case at Seattle bike expo

The place to learn some inside scoop about the Tour de France on Saturday was inside the noisy former seaplane hangar that hosted the 2007 Group Health Seattle International Bicycle Expo.

Cycling commentator and former pro Frankie Andreu (left) — himself a veteran on nine Tour pelotons — said the 2006 Tour de France was one of the “most amazing” he'd ever seen, because he never knew what was going to happen next.

That uncertainty continues to this day, as Andreu says he can't guess what the future holds for Tour winner Floyd Landis, who prepares to answer doping charges at an administrative hearing in May.

Andreu noted that Landis and his defense team have pointed to “a lot of inaccuracies” at the French lab that analyzed the urine samples that led to the doping accusations. But, “we've only heard from one side,” he said. He wants to wait to hear from the other side — the anti-doping agency and its witnesses — before he decides about the case. …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2007/03/11/frankie-andreu-says-hes-unsure-about-landis-case-at-seattle-bike-expo/

That Floyd Landis book

Cyclist Floyd Landis' hometown paper got the inside scoop about the beleaugered Tour de France winner's new book from a close source, Floyd's mother Arlene.

Entitled “Positively False: The Real Story of How I Won The Tour de France,” the book is being written with Bicycling magazine associate executive editor Loren Mooney and is scheduled for a June 26 release, just before the Tour de France and after the results of his hearing on doping accusations are known.

I'm thinking they should have borrowed the title from Lance Armstrong's first book, and called it, “It's Not About the Drugs.”

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2007/02/13/that-floyd-landis-book/

Landis promises not to bike race in France this year

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. …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2007/02/08/landis-promises-not-to-bike-race-in-france-this-year/

No pro bicycle racing for Floyd Landis in 2007

Last year's winner of the Tour of California, Tour de Georgia and Tour de France has pretty much ruled out professional cycling this year, Floyd Landis said in an interview at ESPN.com.

The pokey pace of his doping case means he's written off the 2007 season, even if he's vindicated.

I'm glad Landis has stayed motivated the past few months and held onto the prospect of cycling this year, but it doesn't seem much of a surprise that this case has dragged out so long. …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2007/01/31/no-pro-bicycle-racing-for-floyd-landis-in-2007/

Pereiro joins Landis under Tour de France doping scrutiny

In the irony of ironies, Spanish cyclist Oscar Pereiro is being questioned by French anti-doping authorities for two failed drug tests during the Tour de France.

The number 2 finisher in last year's Tour, Pereiro, left, had been all but annointed with the yellow jersey as 2006 Tour de France winner Floyd Landis fights accusations that he doped during the Tour. If Landis loses the fight, he loses the Tour title.

If Pereiro can't satisfactorily respond to the doping accusations, the title might go to — bear with me while I look this up — No. 3 finisher Andreas Kloden (Germany) of T-Mobile. But the French newspaper Le Monde says six other unidentified cyclists are being challenged.

As we go down the GC, we don't get to a Frenchman until AG2R's Cyril Dresser in No. 7. That might sound a little fishy, but Le Monde reported that some of the cyclists being challenged were Frenchmen. ….

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2007/01/19/pereiro-joins-landis-under-tour-de-france-doping-scrutiny/

Floyd Landis Fairness Fund

Do you think Floyd Landis is getting a raw deal? Supporters have launched the Floyd Fairness Fund in hopes of raising $2 million to support the costs of his defense.

Landis, winner of the 2006 Tour de France, is defending his title and career against doping allegations that arose shortly after the Tour.

A French laboratory alleged that Landis's testosterone ratios did not fall within accepted levels. Landis is preparing to defend himself …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2007/01/08/floyd-landis-fairness-fund/