Landis wants delay in French doping hearings - report

Floyd Landis, the embattled US cyclist who won last year's Tour de France but tested positive for testosterone, has asked French anti-doping officials to delay proceedings against him, the Los Angeles Times reported on Saturday.

A spokesman for Landis told the newspaper that his defense team wants to complete his appeal of charges from the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) before facing the French inquiry rather than deal with both at once.

WADA president Dick Pound said earlier this month that WADA had asked the French agency AFLD to suspend their hearing. While lacking the power to compel the French government group to comply, Pound was optimistic about the outcome.

"They seem ready to do that, although without renouncing their judicial rights," Pound said, according to the Times.

Landis' defense team said it expects the AFLD will announce a decision after February 8, the day of the scheduled hearing. Landis does not plan to attend and it is possible the hearing will be recessed shortly after a formal start.

The French hearing could be a costly distraction to Landis' WADA fight, especially if the two panels examining Landis' case reach opposite conclusions.

"We believe it's strongly in Floyd's interest to not have to defend two actions simultaneously in two different countries," said legal adviser Maurice Suh.

Landis is appealing a doping positive from the 17th stage of the Tour de France, when he overcame losing over 10 minutes on stage 16 by regaining the race lead after a stunning solo breakaway which secured the yellow jersey.

Landis has denied the accusation and alleges there were procedural inconsistencies by the Paris laboratory which analysed his urine samples, resulting in a false positive.

Thus far, no date has been set for a Landis appeal hearing before an arbitration panel.

If the doping positive is upheld, Landis faces a two-year ban from competition and the loss of his Tour de France title. He could be banned from racing in France should he lose before the AFLD.

Should arbitrators find in Landis's favor but the AFLD rule against him, Landis could be allowed to compete globally but banned from the biggest cycling race in the world.

China Daily/AFP