An international arrest warrant was issued by the French Anti-Doping Agency (AFLD) for United States cyclist Floyd Landis. The charge: Computer hacking.
The fiasco began in 2006 when Floyd Landis piggybacked the success and earned the praise of American cycling hero Lance Armstrong. Staging a phenomenal comeback on stage 17 of the 2006 Tour de France, Landis was awarded the yellow jersey and cruised to the title of Tour de France champion-a title that proved to be short-lived. His post-stage 17 blood test resulted in levels of elevated testosterone. Weeks later, when his back up sample provided similar results, Landis was officially charged with doping.
Landis has maintained his innocence for over three years, leaning on several variables: His body naturally produces more testosterone; he was also on medication for a thyroid problem; or perhaps the cortisone shots he was taking for an ailing hip and his consistent rest and sleep in a Hyperbaric chamber led to the results. Convinced he would be cleared, he was instead banned from cycling for two years and stripped of his Tour de France title after the American Arbitration Association split 2-1 on a decision of his guilt.
In 2009, Floyd Landis was back in the saddle, competing for the OUCH professional cycling team, hopeful that everything was behind him. Nope. Not if the French have anything to do with it. The laboratory responsible for holding Landis’ samples post-Tour de France stated in November 2006 that their network had been hacked. Late 2006 to early 2010? Yeah, I don’t get the timing or the ridiculously slow detective work, either. Ultimately, a simple trace of the hack led to an IP address associated with Arnie Baker, the coach of Floyd Landis.
Disgrace the Tour? No yellow jersey for Floyd. Make a mockery of their officiating process by apparently pulling a juvenile hacking job? Landis might as well have taken a dump on the Eiffel Tower, and vandalized Versailles.
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