Floyd Landis has been on the defensive since news of his positive dope test was leaked just...
Floyd Landis (Image credit: Anthony Tan)
Floyd Landis has been on the defensive since news of his positive dope test was leaked just following the Tour de France. He's been tried in the court of public opinion, but now that he has the data from the test, he's taking the facts of the case to the people. Making his case public could be a telling preemptive strike for Floyd Landis and his legal team as they prepare for the battle ahead. But how sound are their arguments? Laura Weislo analyses the controversial dope test that allegedly showed Landis used testosterone during the Tour de France, as well the Landis team's legal strategy.
The stakes are high in this battle to clear a rider's name, save his career and the yellow jersey he won at this year's Tour de France. The decision to publish extensive documentation last week outlining their case is also a counter to the successive leaks and judgments handed down by senior sports administrators that have had Landis and his head counsel, Howard Jacobs, playing catch-up for weeks after the positive dope test was leaked to the press before Landis was officially notified of the result.
Now they have started to court public opinion as they prepare for hearings they want opened to the public. If granted their wish, the hearing could be standing-room only, as it seems that thousands of cycling fans and anti-doping advocates are devoting massive amounts of their free time to reading and discussing the documentation of this case, poking holes both in the WADA data and the Landis defense.
