Landis Guilty Of Doping, Loses Tour Title

Source: CBS News

Floyd Landis lost his expensive and explosive doping case Thursday when the arbitrators upheld the results of a test that showed the 2006 Tour de France champion used synthetic testosterone to fuel his spectacular comeback victory, The Associated Press has learned.

The decision, handed down nearly four months after a bizarre and bitterly fought hearing, leaves Landis with only one more outlet to possibly salvage his title, an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

According to documents obtained by AP, and to be made public later Thursday, the vote was 2-1 to uphold the results, with lead arbitrator Patrice Brunet and Richard McLaren in the majority and Christopher Campbell dissenting.

The decision means Landis, who repeatedly has denied using performance-enhancing drugs, must forfeit his Tour de France title and is subject to a two-year ban, retroactive to January 30, 2007.



Read more: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/09/20/sports/main3281870.shtml

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IMHO this sport has turned in to a joke thanks to the cheaters and their doping! I don't even believe Lance Armstrong's claims he didn't dope.

who won the world's most challenging bicycle race fair and square.

we only want the ones covered in filth. They give us so much more useless press time to distract us from the real issues.

Don't you know the 4 rule of modern journalism? Stupidity rules.

It's not like we have professional athletes trying to do that sort of thing.

:sarcasm:

and I believe that George Hincapie won fair and square.

It wasnt about super heroic performances, and that made it a smart, competitive race. Which is the way cycle racing is supposed to be.

He is probably the most tested athlete of all times, and has never tested positive. Also the sport is not a joke, the tour de France is the most grueling sporting event in the world and a few cheaters should not tarnish the whole thing.

I went to the last 2 1/2 weeks of the 2004 Tour, and those guys are TOUGH. I left Carcasonne in my rented car about 10 mins after the start, and drove at 80 mph on the Autoroute (toll freeway) parallel to the Tour route that day, stopped for about 15 minutes to buy gas & a sandwich, and got to Nimes about 20 minutes before they arrived! They had been riding a slightly shorter route at 30 mph into a 40 knot 90 degF Mistral wind, too.

And anyone riding Alpe d'Huez 15 km uphill in an hour is superhuman. I didn't even dare try.

This is a pretty complicated case. Unlike many, this is not cut and dry at all.

More info--

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Floyd_Landis

than normal?

They are using the OJ Simpson defense: in the face of overwhelming evidence, exploit racism/nationalism with a dose of paranoia.

Didn't work this time.

No way that happens unless he ingested it, rubbed it on, whatever - it came from an outside source. The court threw out the T/E ratio results. They DID NOT throw out the synthetic testerone results. So it actually is cut and dryed - unless Landis can prove somehow that someone else is responsible for his body containing synthetic testerone. Good luck with that.

For instance, the lab is aware of whose sample they are testing. With all the anti-US prejudice associated with the Tour, I don't think such a flawed process can be trusted.