Cycling: Floyd Landis CAS decision expected Monday

Friday, June 27, 2008 - 09:54 PM

The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) will publish its decision on Floyd Landis' appeal on Monday, June 30 at 11 am EST.

CAS held a closed-door hearing in New York in April.

Landis hopes the CAS appeal board — David Williams of New Zealand, Paris attorney Jan Paulsson and New York lawyer David Rivkin — will overturn the ruling against him by a US arbitration panel last September.

Landis was stripped of the 2006 Tour de France title after standing atop the podium following the final stage, undone when he tested positive for synthetic testosterone after the 17th stage of the race.

The American had fallen back in stage 16 but rallied in stage 17 to reclaim almost eight minutes on his way to a the victory.

Landis denied any wrongdoing and appealed to the US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) in an open hearing last May. But the USADA panel ruled 2-1 against him, resulting in a two-year ban through January 29, 2009.

The International Cycling Union stripped Landis of his 2006 crown after that verdict, awarding the title to Spain's Oscar Pereiro.

Landis presented the case anew to the global panel, again attacking the credibility of the French laboratory which handled his doping samples.

The USADA arbitration panel acknowledged several areas in which the French lab's handling of the test sample was improper but said the carbon ratio isotope test that showed Landis testing positive outweighed those issues.

Timeline

2006

July 19: Landis loses the Tour de France yellow jersey after stage 16. He falls more than eight minutes behind leader Oscar Pereiro.
July 20: Landis relaunches his bid for the yellow jersey, winning the 17th stage after a 130km attack. His stage win puts him 30 seconds behind Pereiro.
July 23: After seizing the yellow jersey in a time trial, Landis becomes the third US cyclist to win the Tour de France.
July 27: The International Cycling Union (UCI) announces an unidentified Tour de France rider tested positive for a performance-enhancing substance. Landis' Phonak team confirms his "A" sample tested positive for an abnormal ratio of testosterone.
July 27: Landis denies doping in a teleconference with US reporters.
Aug 5: The UCI says Landis' "B" sample confirms the "A" result. Phonak sacks him. Tour de France officials say they no longer consider him the winner, although he can't be stripped of the title until the appeal process is complete.
Aug 15: Phonak owner Andy Rihs disbands the team.
Sept 9: The US Anti-Doping Agency denies motion by Landis to dismiss the case.
Oct 12: Landis posts hundreds of pages of technical documents on his Web site, followed by public appearances drumming up support and funding for his defense.
December: USADA requests permission to test Landis' seven backup samples from the 2006 Tour.

2007

Jan 12: The French Anti-Doping Agency summons Landis but agrees to delay its probe until after the USADA arbitration.
April: Arbitrators vote 2-1 to allow testing of Landis "B" samples at the French lab that conducted original Tour de France tests. L'Equipe quotes an anonymous source saying samples contained synthetic testosterone. Landis' camp claims observers were denied access to testing and analysis.
May: Nine-day arbitration hearing before a three-person panel.
Sept 20: Arbitration decision announced, 2-1 against Landis.The UCI strips Landis of his Tour victory.
Oct 10: Landis announces he will appeal to the CAS.

2008

March 19: Landis appeal is heard by a Court of Arbitration for Sport panel in New York.
June 30:CAS decision to be announced.