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<tr><td style="padding-right:1em;">Rider type</td><td>GC'er and time trialist</td></tr> <tr><th style="background: #ADDFAD;" colspan="2">Major wins</th></tr><tr><td colspan="2">* 1x Tour de France (2006) (in question)

• 2 stages, Tour de France (2006: RR; 2004: TTT)
• 1x Paris-Nice (2006)
• 1x Tour de Georgia (2006)
• 1x Tour of California (2006)</td></tr>

Floyd Landis <tr><td colspan="2" align="center">Image:Floyd-landis-toctt.jpg</td></tr>

Personal information
Date of birth	October 14 1975
Country	Image:Flag of the United States.svg United States
Team information
Current team	None
Professional team(s)
1999-2001 2002-2004 2005-2006	Mercury Cycling Team US Postal Service Phonak Hearing Systems

Floyd Landis (born October 14 1975) is an American cyclist. A time-trial specialist as well as a strong climber, Landis turned professional in 1999 with the Mercury Cycling Team. He joined the US Postal Service team in 2002, and moved to the Phonak Hearing Systems team in 2005. Landis was fired from the Phonak team on August 5, 2006, after a positive finding of doping was confirmed.<ref name=phonakfireslandis>"Phonak Cycling Team to clarify consequences", Phonak Cycling Team, 2006-08-05. Retrieved on 2006-08-05.</ref>

Landis is still listed as the winner of the 2006 Tour de France, the third American to do so (after Greg LeMond and Lance Armstrong), but is not considered by Tour officials to be the champion <ref>http://sports.espn.go.com/oly/cycling/news/story?id=2541883</ref>. Because of a failed drug test which indicated a much higher than allowed ratio of testosterone to epitestosterone and the presence of synthetic testosterone during one stage of the race, he is expected to have to forfeit his title.<ref>"Landis "B" Test Results In", CBS News, 2006-08-05. Retrieved on 2006-08-05.</ref> Tour Director Christian Prudhomme no longer considers Landis the winner, but ultimately the decision of whether to strip him of his title will be made by the International Cycling Union (UCI).<ref>http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,207157,00.html</ref> Under UCI rules, the determination of whether or not a cyclist violated any rules must be made by the cyclist's national federation, in this case USA Cycling, which has transferred the case to the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA).<ref>"Backup Test Confirms Adverse Findings in Tour de France Champ Landis' Urine", FoxNews.com, 2006-08-05. Retrieved on 2006-08-05.</ref><ref>"Landis Tests Positive; Title is a total complete loss", Chicago Tribune, 2006-08-05. Retrieved on 2006-08-05."Backup Test Confirms Adverse Findings in Tour de France Champ Landis' Urine", FoxNews.com, 2006-08-05. Retrieved on 2006-08-05.</ref><ref>"US Cycling hands Landis case to USADA", Guardian, 2006-08-06. Retrieved on 2006-08-06.</ref>

Contents 1 Biography 1.1 "Master of the Mountains" 1.2 2006 Tour de France 1.3 Doping investigation 1.3.1 Landis' claims of innocence and reasons given for positive results 1.3.2 Credibility of the lab 1.3.3 Testing assumptions and confounding factors 1.3.4 Effects of testosterone 1.3.5 Exogenous testosterone 1.3.6 Reaction among cyclists 1.3.7 Request to dismiss doping charges 1.4 Hip ailment 2 Physical statistics 3 Major results 4 References 5 External links

[edit] Biography

Floyd Landis was raised in a conservative family in a Mennonite community. He is the second child and oldest son of Paul and Arlene Landis. His childhood home is located in the unincorporated village of Farmersville in West Earl Township, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. Unlike the more familiar Old Order Amish, conservative Mennonites do employ electricity and some modern technology, such as automobiles. They avoid television, movies, and many other elements of "modern" culture. As a result, Landis grew up somewhat isolated from modern American culture.

Landis used his first bike to ride while out fishing with a friend, but quickly learned to enjoy riding for its own sake. At one point, he became determined to ride in a local race. Landis showed up wearing sweatpants because his religion forbade wearing shorts; he won anyway. More wins followed as Landis continued to enjoy the sport. Disturbed at his son's participation in what he considered a "useless" endeavor, Landis' father tried to discourage him from racing his bike by giving him extra chores. This left him no time to train during the day, so he snuck out to train at night. Landis sometimes snuck out at 1 or 2 a.m. and often in the freezing cold. Landis' father got a tip off that he had been going out at night. He was unable to appreciate his son's passion for cycling and thought that he might be getting into drugs or alcohol. He often followed Landis at a distance to make sure he wasn't getting into trouble. Today, Landis' father has become a hearty supporter of his son, and regards himself as one of Floyd's biggest fans.<ref>OLN Television broadcast of the 2006 Tour de France, July 22 2006</ref><ref>The New American in Paris, page 5 Outside Magazine online, July 2006 issue</ref>

[edit] "Master of the Mountains"

Landis won the first mountain bike race he ever entered. In 1993 he was crowned junior national champion. He told friends he would win the Tour de France one day. At age 20 Landis moved to Southern California to train full time as a mountain biker. He soon established a reputation for toughness, once finishing a race riding on only his rims.<ref>"Landis, Tiger rise to the occasion", Sierra Sun, 2006-07-23.</ref> However, his training regimen resembled that of a road biker, and in 1999 he switched to road cycling.

Landis performed well enough on the road that Lance Armstrong recruited him to U.S. Postal and chose Landis to ride alongside him in three straight Tours de France (all of which Armstrong won) from 2002 to 2004. Landis often pushed the pace in the mountains to break the pack before Armstrong made his final move. In the 2004 tour, Landis led Armstrong and a few of Armstrong's main rivals over the final climb of stage 17, putting on such an impressive display of strength that comedian Robin Williams dubbed him the "Mofo of the Mountains." Landis' performance led some observers to peg him as a possible team leader and future winner of the maillot jaune. Landis left US Postal later that year after receiving a better contract offer from the Phonak squad.

In the 2005 Tour de France, Landis finished ninth overall in the General Classification, his highest finish in the tour at that time.

Landis started the 2006 season strong, with overall wins in the Amgen Tour of California, and then in the prestigious Paris-Nice, both week-long stage races. Winning Paris-Nice gave Landis 52 points in the UCI ProTour individual competition, starting him off in first place for 2006. Landis continued his display of strength with another overall win in the Ford Tour de Georgia, which took place from April 18 to 23. In addition to winning the Tour de Georgia time trial, Landis managed to retain every second of his lead through the mountains with a close second place finish to Tom Danielson on Brasstown Bald, the most difficult climbing stage of the tour.

[edit] 2006 Tour de France

Image:Floyd Landis-Tour de France 2006-20060723.jpg In the lead-up to the 2006 Tour de France, Landis was widely mentioned as a dark horse contender. The widespread assumption was that the winner would be either Ivan Basso or Jan Ullrich, who finished second and third respectively in the 2005 tour. In the days immediately before the race, the Operación Puerto doping case led to Basso and Ullrich being withdrawn, leaving Landis prominent among a field of possible favorites.

Landis' Tour did not begin encouragingly. When his turn came to leave the start house in the Prologue time trial, he was not even there, having suffered a cut tire on his rear disc wheel. He finished ninth in the stage, just 9 seconds behind winner Thor Hushovd. His bad time trial luck continued during Stage 7, a 52 kilometer individual time trial to Rennes, when a handlebar malfunction forced him to switch bikes midway through the race. Nevertheless, Landis managed to finish second, one minute behind T-Mobile's Serhiy Honchar of Ukraine. Landis gained an important time advantage over other top contenders for the overall victory and the tour headed into its first mountain stages.

In the second mountain stage, he was among the few that could hold on to the fierce pace set by the riders of the Rabobank team. Landis finished the stage in third, along with Denis Menchov and Levi Leipheimer. He retained the overall lead until Stage 13, when he and his team let a breakaway group get a half-hour lead in the stage. Among the group was his former teammate Oscar Pereiro, who took the overall lead by 89 seconds. The assumption was that Pereiro, who had lost half an hour in the three previous mountain stages, would not be a serious contender in the Alps, and that it would be easy to win the jersey back. Indeed, in Stage 15, on the slopes of the infamous l'Alpe d'Huez, Landis outrode Pereiro by almost two minutes, regaining the jersey and a 10-second overall lead in the process.

The next day was a different story. Landis "bonked" on the final ascent to the summit of La Toussuire, losing ten minutes. He fell from first to eleventh place in the general classification, and Pereiro took the overall lead now eight minutes ahead of him. Landis reportedly had a lapse in concentration and failed to eat enough during the ride in this stage.<ref name="Guardian recap">Willam Fotheringham, "After all the twists and turns a deserving ruler emerges from the anarchy", The Guardian, July 24, 2006.</ref> With only two more stages where the GC could reasonably be contested remaining in the Tour, one more mountain stage and one time trial, almost everyone paying attention assumed his disastrous performance would mark the end of his chance to win the Tour. Many assumed that he may not even achieve a place on the podium. Among the exceptions to this pattern of thinking was five time tour winner Eddy Merckx. Merckx bet 100 euros against 75 to 1 odds that Landis would still win the Tour. It is notable that his son, Axel Merckx, was on Landis's Phonak team for the 2006 Tour. <ref name="Robbie Hunter diary">Robbie Hunter, "Any more doubts as to who is the strongest?", Robbie Hunter's diary, 20.07.2006 22:31</ref>

On the following day's Stage 17, Landis stunned the cycling world with a 120 km solo breakaway attack that has been called "one of the most epic days of cycling ever seen".<ref name="VeloNews reactions">"Reactions to Landis's launch", VeloNews, July 20, 2006.</ref> The performance earned Landis comparisons to the famed rides of Eddy Merckx. At one point on the course, he was 9'04" clear of the maillot jaune wearing Pereiro. Landis ultimately won the stage by nearly six minutes over Team CSC's Carlos Sastre and took more than seven minutes out of Pereiro's lead. At the end of the day, Landis sat in third place overall, 18 seconds behind Sastre and just 30 seconds back from the time of the Tour leader. The following stage was a 57 km individual time trial, and Landis' strength in time trialing put him well within striking distance of regaining the tour lead. Landis finished third in the stage 19 time trial, 1'29" ahead of Pereiro and 3'31" ahead of Sastre, to reclaim the yellow jersey with a lead of 59 seconds. Landis retained the lead through Stage 20, the procession into Paris, to win the 2006 Tour de France by 57 seconds.

[edit] Doping investigation

On July 27, 2006 the Phonak Cycling Team announced Floyd Landis had an "A" sample test come back positive with an unusually high ratio of the hormone testosterone to epitestosterone after his famous ride in Stage 17 of the Tour de France.<ref>"Landis gives positive drugs test", BBC Sport, 2006-07-27. Retrieved on 2006-08-01.</ref> Landis denied doping and waited for the results of his "B" sample. <ref>Toman, Mar. "Landis requests backup sample to clear doping allegations", Yahoo Sports!, 2006-07-31. Retrieved on 2006-08-01.</ref> Phonak stated that he would be dismissed should his "B" sample test positive. The results of the "B" sample allegedly confirmed the positive result, and Landis was suspended from racing and dismissed from his team. <ref>"Landis gives positive drugs test", BBC News, 2006-07-27.</ref> Landis' personal doctor later revealed the test had found a ratio of 11:1 in Landis' blood. The highest permitted ratio is 4:1. <ref name = "NYT31July">Macur, Juliet. "Testosterone in Landis’s Body Said Not to Be Natural", New York Times, 2006-07-31. Retrieved on 2006-08-01.</ref> Landis had five days to request independent verification using the "B" sample per UCI rules. However, the International Cycling Union (UCI), requested that the same laboratory in Châtenay-Malabry that had worked with the "A" sample go ahead and test the "B" sample as well. The UCI took this step on July 31, claiming that Landis had yet to do so. The UCI said "We have done this so the whole thing can be speeded up. We took this decision because of the importance of the case. Also, the longer it goes on the more damage the sport risks suffering." In response, a spokesman for Landis has insisted that the cyclist himself asked on July 31 for the "B" sample to be tested. He was well within the five-day limit required of the athlete. If the UCI had not requested the test, and Landis had waited until Wednesday, August 2 to appeal for the "B" sample to be tested, the result would not have been known for several weeks as the laboratory closes for the holidays during that period.<ref>"Pressure mounts for Landis B test", BBC Sport, BBC, 2006-07-31. Retrieved on 2006-08-01.</ref> The samples reportedly tested positive for an unnatural source of testosterone.<ref>"Test Said to Show Synthetic Testosterone in Landis’s Body", 2006-07-31. Retrieved on 2006-08-01.</ref>

After the B sample also tested positive for a high ratio of testosterone to epitestosterone, Landis was dismissed by team Phonak. <ref>"LANDIS B TEST COMES BACK POSITIVE", 2006-08-05.</ref> In the case that Landis is forced to forfeit his tour title, second place Spanish rider Óscar Pereiro Sio will be declared the winner. Landis also potentially faces a two-year ban and the loss of his €450,000 first prize. Already, the controversy has resulted in the disbandment of his former team, Phonak. <ref>"End of the road for Phonak", 2006-08-15.</ref>

Among Landis' lawyers are Jose Maria Buxeda from Spain and Howard L. Jacobs from the United States. Buxeda represented Spanish cyclist Roberto Heras when he was suspended for two years after testing positive for EPO. Jacobs has extensive experience defending athletes accused of doping such as cyclist Tyler Hamilton and sprinter Tim Montgomery.

[edit] Landis' claims of innocence and reasons given for positive results

Landis has claimed that he is not guilty of using banned performance-enhancing drugs. He has claimed that "We will explain to the world why this is not a doping case, but a natural occurrence" and that the testosterone in his body was "natural and produced by my own organism."<ref>http://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/31/sports/othersports/31cnd-landis.html?ex=1311998400&en=b02559a32460c644&ei=5090&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss</ref> Doubt was cast on Landis' claims on 2006-08-01, when The New York Times reported that, according to a source at the UCI, Landis's urine test had revealed synthetic testosterone in his body.<ref>http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/01/sports/othersports/01landis.html?ex=1312084800&en=84648e66c180910a&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss</ref>

Landis's personal doctor, Dr. Brent Kay, acknowledged that the test had found a ratio of 11-to-1 (testosterone to epitestosterone) in Landis's system.<ref>http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/other_sports/cycling/5237990.stm</ref> The allowable limit is 4-to-1.

Landis and his spokespeople have put forward a variety of reasons for his positive drug test. They include: naturally high testosterone, drinking alcohol, dehydration, thyroid medication, and a conspiracy against him.

Landis is quoted as saying, "There are multiple reasons why this could have happened, other than what they're saying ... there are possibly hundreds of reasons why this test could be this way."<ref>http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14222191/</ref> The number of varied excuses offered up by Landis provided fodder for many skeptical columns by sports journalists and has inspired satirists such as late-night TV show host David Letterman, who presented the "Top 10 Floyd Landis Excuses" on his show.<ref>http://sportsline.com/columns/story/9590157</ref>

Numerous experts have refuted Landis' excuses.<ref>http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/02/sports/othersports/02landis.html?ei=5090&en=1307f85f2197f840&ex=1312171200&adxnnl=1&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss&adxnnlx=1156348806-RjFscpSVvulDEoKP7xlAMQ</ref> Prof. Christiane Ayotte, director of Montreal's anti-doping laboratory, said that "In 25 years of experience of testing testosterone ... such a huge increase in the level of testosterone cannot be accepted to come from any natural factors." David Black, a forensic toxicologist for Nashville-based Aegis Sciences, said, "There are not hundreds of plausible explanations. If the tests were so unreliable that there were hundreds of possible reasons, there would be no point in performing the tests."<ref>http://www.usatoday.com/sports/columnist/saraceno/2006-08-08-saraceno-landis-excuses_x.htm</ref>

Landis later backtracked from some of his excuses, saying "The whisky idea was not mine and the dehydration was a theory from the lawyers I hired in Spain to represent me".<ref>http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/other_sports/cycling/5254402.stm</ref>

On September 7, 2006 Landis was televised on San Diego's NBC affiliate announcing at a La Jolla fundraiser that information in the lab report could exonerate him. He stated that more details would be announced, perhaps as early as the next day. On September 8, 2006, Landis' attorney announced that he would formally request that the case be dropped because of inconsistencies found in the way the samples were handled according to the 370 page report. <ref>Steve Medcroft, cyclingnews.com, September 9, 2006, "Landis lawyers demand that doping case be dismissed"</ref>

[edit] Credibility of the lab

The credibility of the Châtenay-Malabry laboratory that analyzed both of Landis's tests has been questioned. In 2005, the president of the Association of Summer Olympic International Federations called for investigation and suspension of the lab after it was involved, along with UCI and WADA, in the leaking of experimental results, which would link to Lance Armstrong's (and two other cyclists) frozen 1999 Tour samples to alleged experimentally positive results<ref>http://outside.away.com/outside/features/200512/lance-armstrong-1.html</ref>. The Châtenay-Malabry lab is an administrative establishment of the French national government [1] and is accredited by the World Anti-Doping Agency. <ref>http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/08/16/opinion/edeustice.php</ref>

Following the reported positive drug test on his "A" sample, Landis suggested that the results had been improperly released by the International Cycling Union. On August 9, 2006, Pat McQuaid, president of the UCI, rejected this claim, saying, "We acted correctly. We informed the team, the rider and the federation that there had been an irregularity. Then we issued a press release saying that an unnamed rider had been found positive in the Tour. [Landis'] team published his name, two days later. I have full faith in that laboratory, and there are stringent measures kept in place by the anti-doping agencies to ensure they proceed correctly." <ref>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/08/09/AR2006080901074.html</ref>

[edit] Testing assumptions and confounding factors

The assumption of high T/E ratios as "proof of doping" is not clearly supported in the scientific literature.<ref name=report>van de Kerkhof DH, de Boer D, Thijssen JH, Maes RA, "Evaluation of testosterone/epitestosterone ratio influential factors as determined in doping analysis", Journal of Analytical Toxicology, 24(2):102-115, 2000 March</ref> Hypothyroidism (which Landis has), causes low levels of SHBG that can cause testosterone to accumulate (since testosterone bound to SHBG reduces its biological availability).^{[citation needed]} Although this can result in an unusually high T/E ratio, no prior tests from Landis have tested positive, including all his earlier tour tests, as well as testing throughout the 2006 season (this bears upon the assumption that high T/E ratios indicate use of steroids as part of a training regimen to improve muscle mass, discussed in Perry PJ, Andersen KH, Yates WR. Illicit anabolic steroid use in athletes: a case series analysis. Am J Sports Med 1990;18:422-428). Alcohol consumption was also speculated to be a possible cause of Landis' elevated T/E ratio. Landis stated he had had 2 beers and "at least" four shots of "Jack Daniels" following his disastrous Stage 16 performance. <ref>"Floyd Landis's Alcohol Defense", The Wall Street Journal Online, 2006-08-02. Retrieved on 2006-08-01.</ref> <ref name=report>"Floyd outlandish or legitimate Landis?", The Sydney Morning Herald, 2006-07-31. Retrieved on 2006-08-01.</ref> Alcohol consumption has been shown to increase T/E ratios by roughly 40% in men.<ref>Falk O, Palonek E, Bjorkhem I., "Effect of ethanol on the ratio between testosterone and epitestosterone in urine."</ref> However, the increase in testosterone after alcohol intake has also been described as unlikely to have a huge effect with males. <ref>Tanner, Lindsey. "Urine test reveals elevated testosterone levels", Yahoo Sports!, 2006-07-28. Retrieved on 2006-08-01.</ref>

[edit] Effects of testosterone

There is debate whether the use of testosterone leads to an increase in energy and strength. Some have argued an athlete is highly unlikely to use testosterone for a quick boost as its effectiveness is greatest with long-term application. It has been suggested that Landis may have been using testosterone over the long term but either masking it or diluting it to avoid detection. The positive test result would therefore have been due to a mistake with the alleged doping program on one day.<ref>Hersh, Philip. "French-fried conundrum Landis doping case not at all clear-cut", Sports (Commentary), The Chicago Tribune, 2006-07-31. Retrieved on 2006-08-01.</ref> Other physicians have claimed that testosterone can have a great short-term effect. <ref>Kaufman, Michelle. "Toxicologist says testosterone can have great short-term effect", The Mercury News, 2006-07-29. Retrieved on 2006-08-01.</ref>

Statisticians have discussed the problems with interpreting test results from high volume and repeated testing in the context of other high profile cases involving well known athletes. For instance, the American middle distance runner Mary Decker Slaney had a higher than acceptable T/E ratio in a urine test at the Olympic trials in 1996. The Bayesian statistician Don Berry presented statistical arguments on her behalf in September 1997 to a Doping Hearing Board of the USA Track and Field (USATF). Slaney was exonerated at that hearing, although the international association later overturned the ruling. An accessible description of the statistical issues was later published in the journal Chance.<ref>Berry, Don. "Inferences about testosterone use among athletes", Chance, 2004.</ref>

[edit] Exogenous testosterone

On 1 August 2006 media reports said that the testosterone was synthetic as concluded from the lab's carbon isotope ratio test, or CIR, on the A sample. Its results showed that some of the testosterone in Landis’s body came from an external source, i.e. it was not naturally produced by his own system. These reported results conflict with Landis's public speculation that it was a natural occurrence.<ref>"Synthetic testosterone found in Landis urine sample", Sports Illustrated, 2006-08-01. Retrieved on 2006-08-01.</ref><ref name = "NYT31July"/>

The CIR test distinguishes between testosterone produced naturally by the athlete's body and synthetic testosterone introduced from an outside source. The test is performed by Isotope Ratio Mass Spectrometry (IRMS). According to Dr. Gary I. Wadler, a member of the World Anti-Doping Agency, the carbon isotope ratio test needs to be done only once, on either an A or on a B sample, particularly if the athlete’s T/E ratio is high as in Landis' case. <ref name = "NYT31July"/>

[edit] Reaction among cyclists

After the A sample, retired American cyclist and three-time Tour de France winner Greg LeMond doubted whether additional doping tests would reverse Landis' earlier results. He stated, "I hope the sampling comes back negative, unfortunately, I think the labs in Europe are very professional." <ref>"Mom keeps the faith / LeMond: Take High Road", PE.com, 2006-07-27.</ref>

On July 28, 2006 Landis appeared on Larry King Live to explain his situation and reiterate his innocence.<ref>"Larry King Live Transcript - July 28, 2006".</ref> Seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong also called in to express support for his former teammate. Armstrong remains skeptical of the French laboratory that conducted Landis' drug test, noting it is the same laboratory involved in some of the former doping allegations against himself. <ref>"Armstrong backs Landis", Adelaide Now, 2006-07-30. Retrieved on 2006-08-01.</ref>

[edit] Request to dismiss doping charges

On 11 September, 2006, Landis asked a U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) review board to dismiss doping charges against him. Landis's request was on the basis that the 'A' and 'B' urine sample from stage 17 of the Tour de France do not meet the established World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) criteria for a positive doping offense. Landis' lawyer said in a statement: "The single testosterone/epitestosterone analysis in this case is replete with fundamental, gross errors." The lawyer also claims that the positive finding on the 'B' sample came from a sample number not assigned to Landis. <ref>Charry, Gene. "Landis asks USADA to drop case against him", Guardian, 2006-09-13. Retrieved on 2006-09-14.</ref> <ref>"Landis states his case to USADA", Sport: Cycling, BBC, 2006-09-13. Retrieved on 2006-09-14.</ref> Landis received notice on September 18 that the ADRB has recommended that the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) move forward in the disciplinary process related to the cyclist’s alleged positive drug test. Howard Jacobs, attorney for Landis, has requested an open hearing by the American Arbitration Association to contest potential sanctions against the athlete.

On 12 October, 2006, Landis made public via Box.net his case documents that use fact-based science to support his innocence in the alleged positive doping test of July 20, 2006. He published the following documents:<ref>The case files can be downloaded by going to http://www.box.net, clicking “LOGIN” and using PublicAccess as both the Login and Password, or from the collection at archive.org without passwords. "Landis case information now online", Sport: Cycling, Floyd Landis Website, 2006-10-02. Retrieved on 2006-10-12.</ref> <ref>"Archive.org Collection of Landis Case Documents", Sport: Cycling, Archive.org, 2006-10-12. Retrieved on 2006-10-12.</ref>

• Attorney Howard Jacobs’ motion for dismissal, submitted to the Anti-Doping Review Board (ADRB) on September 11, 2006
• The complete World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) document package, inclusive of the testing information from Landis’ ‘A’ and ‘B’ samples
• A PowerPoint presentation created by Arnie Baker, M.D. with specific reference to:
  • The details of the carbon isotope ratio test (CIR), demonstrating that the CIR conducted on Landis’ urine sample does not meet the WADA criteria for a positive doping test
  • Demonstration of an unacceptable variation in sample testing results
  • Errors in fundamental testing procedure and protocol

In addition to being a public relations strategy, these files are freely available as an attempt "to draw on the collective resources of cycling fans, using the internet to allow widely distributed review of evidence in his case and he encourages internet users to find the mistakes that the legal team has not noticed."<ref name="wikipediastrategy">Snow, Michael Floyd Landis adopts "the Wikipedia defense" as appeal strategy, Wikipedia Signpost, October 16, 2006</ref> His strategy has been coined as the "Wikipedia defense".<ref name="wikipediastrategy"/>

In his submissions to the USADA to dismiss the doping charges against him, Landis' arguments center on four points. First, they argue that the WADA CIR test actually shows a negative result, or at worst an inconclusive result. In the CIR test, four parameters are tested. The lawyers argue that a positive result occurs only when all four of the parameters are high. In the lab's results, only one of these parameters was high, but still within the tolerance error.

Second, they argue that the best indicator in the WADA test shows a negative result. The lawyers point to WADA documentation that states that a parameter from a urine parameter is the best indicator. In the lab's results, this parameter in Landis' urine was arguably normal.

Third, they argue that WADA's test results indicate that the measurement is inaccurate because the sample was contaminated. The lab's results indicate what Landis' lawyers argue is a enormous variance of measurements in successive tests.

Finally, they note that WADA's documents show mismatches in the reference numbers of the sample versus the reference number that Landis attested. As proof, the lawyers provide screen shots of the documents and point out the inconsistencies in the reference numbers. The lawyers also point out one instance where the reference number of the lab report has been overwritten. (The lab's protocol requires that any corrections must be made with a single strikethrough line and then initialed and dated.)

[edit] Hip ailment

The powerful performance of Landis up to Stage 16 of the Tour de France and his comeback in Stage 17 is particularly notable given his hip ailment, osteonecrosis, which was revealed in an article in The New York Times during the 2006 Tour de France.<ref name="New York Times magazine article">"What He's Been Pedaling", The New York Times, July 16, 2006.</ref> This deterioration in the ball joint of his right hip stemmed from diminished blood supply and constricted blood vessels caused by scar tissue. The original injury that led to the formation of the scar tissue was a femoral neck fracture sustained in a bicycle crash during a training ride near his Southern California home in October 2002. Landis kept the ailment secret from his teammates, rivals, and the media until an announcement made while the 2006 Tour was underway. This same ailment also affected former multi-sport athlete Bo Jackson and American football player Brett Favre.

Landis rode the 2006 Tour with the constant pain from the injury, which he described thus: "It's bad, it's grinding, it's bone rubbing on bone. Sometimes it's a sharp pain. When I pedal and walk, it comes and goes, but mostly it's an ache, like an arthritis pain. It aches down my leg into my knee. The morning is the best time, it doesn't hurt too much. But when I walk it hurts, when I ride it hurts. Most of the time it doesn't keep me awake, but there are nights that it does."<ref name="Landis's Hip Will Need Surgery After Bid for Tour">"Landis's Hip Will Need Surgery After Bid for Tour", The New York Times, July 10, 2006.</ref>

During the Tour, Landis was medically approved to take cortisone for this injury, a medication otherwise prohibited in professional cycling for its known potential for abuse. Landis himself called his win "a triumph of persistence" despite the pain.<ref>Fotheringham, Alasdair. "Cycling: Landis the Tour king celebrates a triumph of survival", The Independent, 2006-07-24. Retrieved on 2006-07-28. (subscription required)</ref>

Landis underwent successful hip replacement surgery on September 27, 2006. Although it is unclear whether he will be able to compete at a professional level following rehabilitation, he is optimistic, and plans on competing in the 2007 Tour de France.

[edit] Physical statistics

• Height: 5'-10" (1.78m)
• Weight: 150 lb (68kg)

[edit] Major results

Preceded by: Lance Armstrong

Winner of the Tour de France 2006

Succeeded by: incumbent

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Floyd Landis' Website

Persondata
NAME	Landis, Floyd
ALTERNATIVE NAMES
SHORT DESCRIPTION	Cyclist
DATE OF BIRTH	October 14, 1975
PLACE OF BIRTH	Farmersville, West Earl Township, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania
DATE OF DEATH
PLACE OF DEATH

br:Floyd Landis

bg:Флойд Ландис ca:Floyd Landis da:Floyd Landis de:Floyd Landis et:Floyd Landis es:Floyd Landis eo:Floyd Landis fr:Floyd Landis hi:फ्लोयड-लैनडिस-टॉक्ट्ट id:Floyd Landis it:Floyd Landis nl:Floyd Landis ja:フロイド・ランディス no:Floyd Landis pl:Floyd Landis pt:Floyd Landis scn:Floyd Landis fi:Floyd Landis sv:Floyd Landis th:ฟลอยด์ แลนดิส zh:弗洛伊德·兰迪斯