14 DAY TRIAL // American cyclist Floyd Landis is wanted by French authorities in connection to a hacking incident at a national anti-doping laboratory. The rider denies any involvement in the case and says that the evidence against him is fabricated.
Floyd Landis, who rode as Lance Armstrong's teammate when he won all Tour de France editions between 2002 and 2004, went on to grab the yellow jersey for himself in 2006. However, his title was later withdrawn and he was suspended from professional cycling after a dope test came back positive.
The test taken after Landis' impressive performance in Stage 17 of the 2006 Tour de France, which secured his win, was strongly contested by the rider. Landis accused the anti-doping lab of incompetence and bias, and the Paris-based lab claimed that information used by the cyclist's legal team in his defense was unlawfully extracted from one of its computer systems.
"It seems that (Landis) made all he could to enter into our computer system to try to prove the laboratory was wrong. He showed many documents he got by hacking to numerous sporting instances. The judge traced a network of hackers back to the ringleader," Pierre Bordry, the head of the French anti-doping agency, commented according to REUTERS.
Landis told the Los Angeles Times that he was not formally contacted regarding this recent development; however, this is most likely because the arrest warrant only covers France's territory. "It appears to be another case of fabricated evidence by a French lab who is still upset a United States citizen believed he should have the right to face his accusers and defend himself," he noted.
Nevertheless, the arrest warrant could hinder the cyclist's future plans. After his suspension expired last year, and he started participating in local races again, Landis mentioned that he was considering whether to make a comeback at Tour de France or not. The rider is currently without a team.