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Associated Press
Posted: 22 minutes ago
NEW YORK (AP) - Floyd Landis' lawyer wants U.S. doping authorities to drop their case against the Tour de France winner, contending there were "inconsistencies" in the way the drug tests were handled.
Attorney Howard Jacobs said he plans to submit a formal request Monday to the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency that it dismiss evidence showing the cyclist tested positive for testosterone after capturing the sport's showcase race in July.
Landis has insisted he is innocent, and Jacobs said the positive tests point to a "premature public conviction."
"In our review of the documents detailing the tests on both the 'A' and 'B' sample, we have found evidence that supports our request for USADA to drop the doping charges against Landis," Jacobs said in a statement posted on Landis' Web site Friday. "While I cannot comment on the full details of our findings, we now have the foundation for a very strong defense should the case proceed to arbitration."
Jacobs said he and a team of scientists found "inconsistencies in the testing protocol and methodology" during a review of 370 pages of documents he received Aug. 31 from the French national anti-doping laboratory near Paris.
Testosterone, a male sex hormone, helps build muscle and improve stamina. The urine tests were done July 20 after Landis' Stage 17 victory during a grueling Alpine leg of the Tour de France. He regained nearly eight minutes against then-leader Oscar Pereiro and went on to win the three-week race.
Jacobs' move to clear Landis follows the announcement Wednesday that Marion Jones was cleared of doping after her "B" sample came up negative for the banned endurance enhancer EPO, negating her positive "A" sample. Jacobs also represents Jones.
Landis was fired by his Phonak team and discredited as Tour de France winner Aug. 5 when his "B" sample tested positive for higher-than-allowable levels of testosterone.
"Once again, we are asking for complete transparency in this process," Jacobs said. "Floyd has maintained his innocence from the outset and what we have found in the official document package points to a premature public conviction before all of the evidence could be considered.
"This is another example why the leaking of an 'A' sample results and violating the athletes' right to anonymity is such a horrible thing. It is this exact scenario that caused the rules governing anti-doping cases in the United States to be amended in 2004, to allow an athlete concerned about fairness to request that a hearing be opened to the public."
Also Friday, the head of the French Council to Prevent and Combat Doping revealed that 13 riders tested positive for drugs at the Tour de France this year, and all except Landis had medical certificates allowing them to take banned substances.
Of the 105 riders tested, 60 percent had the certificates, said Pierre Bordry, who is concerned by the large number of cyclists who had such medical certificates, which are approved by the sport's governing body.
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09-09-2006 06:29 PM
