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Landis' lawyer questions soundness of doping tests

Floyd Landis throws away a water bottle as he rides up the Joux-Plane pass during the 17th stage of the 93rd Tour de France on July 20. Landis' legal team is challenging the validity of a French lab's positive doping test implicating the US rider. PHOTO: AP

Tour de France winner Floyd Landis asked the US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) on Monday to throw out the positive doping test that has tainted his cycling triumph two months ago.

The motion filed by Landis' attorney Howard Jacobs challenging the validity of the tests cites blunders by the French lab performing the tests, including a sample number that was not that of Landis on a confirming "B" sample positive.

"The analysis in this case is replete with fundamental, gross errors," Jacobs said.

The appeal came three days after hundreds of pages of details about the doping test procedures were received by Landis' legal team.

The motion for dismissal from USADA's independent review board claims that tests conducted by a French laboratory on Landis' urine sample after stage 17 of the race did not meet World Anti-Doping Agency criteria for a doping positive.

Landis won the mountain climb stage to lift himself back into contention after fading just a day earlier. He went on to win but officials found his "A" and "B" samples after the crucial stage were positive for testosterone.

"I did not take testosterone or any other performance enhancing substance and I'm very happy that the science is confirming my innocence," Landis said on Monday in a statement posted on his Web site.

"I was relieved, but not surprised, when I learned that scientific experts found problems with the test. I look forward to restoring my good name so that I can focus on my hip replacement and begin training for next season when I want to return to France to defend my title," he said.

The appeal attacks the carbon isotope ratio (CIR) test performed on the urine sample by the LNDD lab at Chatenay-Malabry, a test International Cycling Union (ICU) and anti-doping officials have declared foolproof.

After seeing testing data, Landis claims that:

* Three of four testosterone metabolite differentials tested in his sample were negative considering the margin of error while WADA protocol requires all such differentials show clear evidence of testosterone to have a positive.

* The lone testosterone metabolite that could be seen as a positive resulted from an unknown laboratory error and is not the result of testosterone usage.

* The metabolite that WADA-accredited labs declare is the best, longest-term indicator of improper testosterone usage was negative in Landis' urine samples.

Jacobs also argues the analysis in Landis' case is filled with errors, including inconsistent testosterone and epitestosterone levels from testing on the "A" sample as well as multiple mismatched sample code numbers that do not belong to Landis.

Jacobs said the confirming "B" sample positive assigned to Landis was in fact from a sample number that was not assigned to Landis, pointing to chain of custody issues that could invalidate the entire testing procedure.

"Clinical laboratories making these types of gross errors could easily find themselves answering to a wrongful death lawsuit, and often do," Jacobs said in the statement.
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