As expected, the USADA found Floyd Landis guilty of testosterone doping during the 2006 Tour de France. Landis can still appeal the decision to the International Court of Arbitration for Sport, but at this point he must be thinking “why bother.” The UCI acted swiftly today, stripping Landis of his Tour victory, thus passing that mantle (whatever it is worth a year after the fact) to Oscar Pereiro. This, of course, means that we must listen to Pereiro lament that he couldn’t wear the yellow jersey in Paris:

Upon the announcement that Floyd Landis had lost his arbitration and received a two year suspension for testing positive for exogenous testosterone in the 2006 Tour de France, the soon to be declared winner of that Tour, Oscar Pereiro told Radio Marca that he hoped to get official documentation of his victory.

Pereiro said he hoped to get the official notification “witnessed by notary public” since he was not able to “leave Paris with the yellow jersey”. Pereiro said he was “very content with the news after fourteen long months of delay”.

Pereiro did not want to belabor the point, but mourned the many beautiful moments he could have had if he would have been crowned the victor in Paris that July. However, he said “it is necessary to be positive and to see that within ten years it will be wonderful to remember it”.

It should be noted that the only reason that Pereiro is in this position is due to, well, stupidity on the part on the peleton, as they allowed the Spainard to get 30 minutes (!) up on the road on them. Had it not been for Landis’ “miraculous” ride, Pereiro’s win would have likely been asterisked with a big “D’oh!”

Landis is facing a minimum two year suspension (and possibly two more). Is he guilty? Humm. It is apparent that the French anti-doping lab may have played a bit fast and loose, but several witnesses (among them Greg LeMond) painted a dark portrait of Landis.

Posted on 20 September 2007