Landis nearly bankrupt?
Floyd Landis stands to lose his Tour prize
Photo ©: Sirotti
American cyclist Floyd Landis, who is facing antidoping hearings in
both the US and in France, has lost nearly $10 million (US) in the
fight to clear his name of charges that he used testosterone during
the 2006 Tour de France, according to the Bloomberg news agency.
Landis, who has repeatedly asserted his innocence, faces a two year
sanction and a four year ban from riding for a ProTour team if he is
found guilty of doping violations.
Landis has been criss-crossing the United States, making appearances
in order to try and raise money for his defence with the help of an
organisation called the Floyd Fairness Fund. The fund has raised close
to $500,000, according to Landis spokesperson Michael Henson, speaking
at the Tour de Georgia last week.
According to the article, his legal expenses have already reached $1
million, and with $3 million lost with his terminated Phonak contract,
and $2 million in lost endorsements along with nearly $4 million in
prospective sponsorships, his losses have reached eight figures. He
also stands to lose €600,000 in Tour de France prize money, currently
frozen, which he will forfeit if he loses his case.
Landis' arbitration hearing with the US Antidoping Agency (USADA) is
scheduled for May 14, and while his legal team requested the date be
moved to a later date after receiving word that further tests on his
Tour de France urine samples revealed additional traces of synthetic
testosterone, no revised date has been announced.