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Sports / Other Sports
Landis guilty of doping
(Agencies)
Updated: 2007-09-22 14:07
PARIS: Floyd Landis, who tested positive for the banned male hormone
testosterone during his 2006 Tour de France triumph, has been found
guilty of doping by a US arbitration panel.
Phonak's team rider Floyd Landis of the US, wearing the leader's yellow
jersey, holds a glass of champagne as he celebrates his overall leader
position during the last stage of the 93rd Tour de France in Paris in
this July 23, 2006 file photo. Landis, who tested positive for the banned
male hormone testosterone during his 2006 Tour de France triumph, has
been found guilty of doping by a US arbitration panel, cycling's
governing body said on September 20, 2007. [Reuters]
"He has been found guilty. It proves that the system works no matter who
you are," Pat McQuaid, president of the International Cycling Union
(UCI), told Reuters by telephone on Thursday.
Landis, who is set to become the first Tour de France winner to be
stripped of the title, said in a statement: "This ruling is a blow to
athletes and cyclists everywhere.
"For the Panel to find in favour of USADA (United States Anti-Doping
Agency) when, with respect to so many issues, USADA did not manage to
prove even the most basic parts of their case shows that this system is
fundamentally flawed. I am innocent, and we proved I am innocent," the
31-year-old added.
McQuaid said Oscar Pereiro, who finished second to Landis in 2006, would
be the winner of the race - the first Spaniard to succeed since Miguel
Indurain's last victory in 1995.
"Under our regulations, Oscar Pereiro will be declared the winner of the
2006 Tour de France," said McQuaid.
Three arbitration experts decided Landis had injected himself with
testosterone after lengthy deliberations following a USADA hearing in May.
Landis now faces a two-year ban from the sport.
However, the American can still take the matter before the Court of
Arbitration for Sport.
Maurice Suh, Landis's lawyer, said in a statement: "The majority Panel's
decision is a disappointment, but particularly so because it failed to
address the joint impact of the many errors that the laboratory committed
in rendering this false positive.
"To take each of these errors singly, is to ignore the total falsity of
the result.
"The majority panel has disregarded the testimony of Mr. Landis' experts,
who are pre-eminent in their respective fields, without analyzing the
impact of the errors on the final result.
"This is a miscarriage of justice."
Landis tested positive for elevated testosterone to epitestosterone
levels after his victory on stage 17 of last year's Tour. Testosterone
can speed up recovery after exercise and generally improves stamina and
strength.
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