French Judge Issues Warrant for Floyd Landis

US cyclist wanted for questioning in hacking of drug-testing lab
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Feb 15, 2010 2:28 PM CST
French Judge Issues Warrant for Floyd Landis
In this July 23, 2006 photo, Floyd Landis of the US toasts with a glass of champagne as he pedals during the final stage of the 93rd Tour de France cycling race, between Antony, south of Paris, and Paris.   (AP Photo/Alessandro Trovati)

A French judge has issued an international arrest warrant for US cyclist Floyd Landis in connection with a case of data hacking at a doping laboratory, France's anti-doping chief said today. French judge Thomas Cassuto is seeking to question Landis about computer hacking dating back to September 2006 at the Chatenay-Malabry lab.

Months earlier, the laboratory near Paris had uncovered abnormally elevated testosterone levels in Landis' samples collected in the run-up to his 2006 Tour de France victory. Landis was stripped of his title and banned for two years. The American cyclist unsuccessfully challenged the drug test results before an arbitration hearing in California—claiming that computer files were mishandled and erased. "Landis used the hacked files for his defense, that's how we discovered the whole scheme," the anti-doping chief said. "He wanted to show that the lab made mistakes in the handling of the tests." (More cycling stories.)

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