MALIBU, Calif., May 14 (Reuters) Floyd Landis, winner of last year's Tour de France, kicked off his 10-day doping hearing today with a denial that he had doped himself and criticism of testing procedures in cycling's top race.
Landis's attorney Maurice Suh said in his opening statement that the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) was so determined to prove Landis guilty that they had turned the case into a ''holy mess.'' Landis is present at the hearing which is being held at Pepperdine University.
Last week, the cyclist said he had been offered a reduced sentence by USADA if he offered ''incriminating evidence'' about fellow U.S. cyclist and seven-time Tour winner Lance Armstrong, who was cleared last year of using illegal substances.
Suh said tests on Landis's urine sample, given after he had completed the 17th stage of the Tour, had been bungled by a laboratory in Paris which had failed to adhere to ''the international standards for laboratories.'' ''This is an embarrassment,'' Suh said, arguing that the technicians who carried out the tests were incompetent and their equipment was faulty.
But Richard Young, attorney for USADA, defended the Paris laboratory, saying the tests had been corroborated by a wealth of evidence and had been independently confirmed.
At the hearing, which concludes on May 23, three arbitration experts will determine whether Landis injected himself with the male hormone testosterone.
If found guilty of doping, Landis faces a two-year suspension and the possibility of becoming the first Tour winner to be stripped of his title.
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Landis's attorney Maurice Suh said in his opening statement that the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) was so determined to prove Landis guilty that they had turned the case into a ''holy mess.'' Landis is present at the hearing which is being held at Pepperdine University.
Last week, the cyclist said he had been offered a reduced sentence by USADA if he offered ''incriminating evidence'' about fellow U.S. cyclist and seven-time Tour winner Lance Armstrong, who was cleared last year of using illegal substances.
Suh said tests on Landis's urine sample, given after he had completed the 17th stage of the Tour, had been bungled by a laboratory in Paris which had failed to adhere to ''the international standards for laboratories.'' ''This is an embarrassment,'' Suh said, arguing that the technicians who carried out the tests were incompetent and their equipment was faulty.
But Richard Young, attorney for USADA, defended the Paris laboratory, saying the tests had been corroborated by a wealth of evidence and had been independently confirmed.
At the hearing, which concludes on May 23, three arbitration experts will determine whether Landis injected himself with the male hormone testosterone.
If found guilty of doping, Landis faces a two-year suspension and the possibility of becoming the first Tour winner to be stripped of his title.
Reuters PDS VP0100
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