The 2006 edition of Tour de France enabled Landis in capping one of the most remarkable comebacks in cycling history but for now he cannot boast it for long, as he has been stripped off the title after a panel upheld a two-year ban on the cyclist and rejected his appeal against it.
Since Landis’s affair becoming public, the headlines about top cycling rider’s involvement in doping scandals became quiet persistent. Adding to the black list, the American is the first Tour de France winner to forfeit his title following the drug abuse, meanwhile Spain’s Oscar Pereiro who finished second, has been named the king of mountains.
Landis’s ban runs till 2009, but he claims any wrongdoings and blames the incompetence of the testing agencies for the result.
Pat McQuaid, UCI president, said,
Landis has been found guilty. It proves that the system works no matter who you are. We now await and see if he does appeal to CAS. It’s not a great surprise considering how events have evolved. He got a highly qualified legal team who tried to baffle everybody with science and public relations, and in the end the facts stood up.
The verdict that should have come much earlier has certainly been a remarkable stride in building the lost integrity of cycling sport that has been blemished by relentless doping scandals. I personally feel that such matters should be severely dealt with resulting in athletes or cyclists worldwide to face straightforward life bans and be treated a criminal offense.
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Via: BBC
