After having spent over $2 million for his legal defense, Floyd Landis has lost his challenge to charges that he doped to win the 2007 Tour de France. He still can appeal to the Court of Arbitration of Sport, but he may never be able to appeal again for public support of his self-proclaimed innocence. The public, after witnessing what they saw as the wholesale collapse of professional cycling following a number of doping scandals, may simply not trust anyone at this point who proclaims they’ve been wronged by the overzealous, and self-serving anti-doping bureaucracy.
I’ve previously declared myself in the camp of Landis supporters, and the lone arbitrator dissent (It was a 2 to 1 vote against Landis) in this case still gives room for substantial doubt about Floyd’s guilt here. So despite the news, I want him to continue to fight the good fight if he can. Money is a big consideration here.
The next shoe to drop, of course, is the forfeiture of the Tour and certainly the abuse of public opinion that will again be heaped on his head. One only hopes he and his family can survive all this in good spirits and good health. Loyalty is not without its trials and tribulations.
