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Landis drug Revelations?

By Greg Johnson

published 20 May 2010

Letter claims of widespread drug use

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Floyd Landis(Image credit: Shane Stokes)

Floyd Landis (Bahati Foundation) was another rider who was able to avoid the crashes today.(Image credit: Jonathan Devich/epicimages.us)

Floyd Landis (OUCH pb Maxxis) chats before the start.(Image credit: Trish Albert / www.southeasterncycling.com)

The podium (L to R): Oscar Pereiro (2nd), Floyd Landis (1st) and Andreas Kloden (3rd)(Image credit: Fotoreporter Sirotti)

Landis during arbitration hearing(Image credit: AFP Photo)

Cyclingnews.com has been sent a letter purportedly from Floyd Landis to a senior cycling official with revelations of drug use in cycling in the period up to his Tour de France victory. We are awaiting responses from individuals involved and hope to bring you full details shortly.

Landis had won the 2006 Tour de France when a urine sample showed the rider had an unusually high testosterone to epitestosterone ratio from a test taken on Stage 17. The Phonak rider was eventually found guilty and disqualified – the first rider to be stripped of the yellow jersey – but not before a drawn out legal battle.

USA Cycling transferred Landis’ case to the United States Anti-Doping Agency, which called a hearing committee to try the Landis case. Landis’ legal team argued that the French National Laboratory for Doping Detection (Laboratoire de Chatenay-Malabry) had been incompetent in its handling of the rider’s sample.

On September 21, 2007 the American Arbitration Association overturned Landis’ appeal against his sanction. The three member arbitration panel, led by president Patrice Brunet along with Christopher Campbell and Richard McLaren, was split 2-1 in the guilty verdict, with Campbell dissenting.

Following the AAA decision Landis exercised his final right of appeal with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). CAS announced in June 2008 that it had upheld the findings and Landis would serve out the original two year ban.

Landis returned to racing after the conclusion of his suspension in early 2009, riding with United States of America domestic team OUCH-Maxxis. The team parted ways at the year’s end and Landis joined the OUCH-Bahati Foundation Cycling Team for 2010.