The doping case against Floyd Landis from last year's Tour de France may be in trouble, according to a report in the Los Angeles Times.
The French laboratory that handled the test results may have allowed improper access to Landis' urine samples, the newspaper reported, citing records that had been turned over to the cyclist's defense. A similar lapse in protocol previously has resulted in doping cases against athletes being dismissed.
According to the report, two technicians who conducted the "A" sample on Landis were involved in tests on the second "B" sample, which is used to confirm the first test. International lab standards do not allow the same technicians to work on both tests to prevent them from attempting to validate their original findings.
Doping allegations against Spanish cyclist Inigo Landaluze were dismissed late last year when it was discovered the same lab made a similar error with his tests in 2005.
Landis was accused of doping after the urine tests indicated he had an improper testosterone ratio and suggested the presence of artificial testosterone. He faces a two-year ban and being officially stripped of his Tour de France title if the results are upheld.
The Times reported it was not clear whether the technicians, Esther Cerpolini and Cynthia Mongongu, played enough of a role in the second round of tests to disqualify the findings. Landis' attorneys are seeking to question the two technicians and have filed a request for access to more lab documents and depositions of lab employees.
According to the newspaper, Travis Tygart, general counsel for the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, declined to comment on the report, citing agency rules forbidding him from discussing ongoing cases.
Landis, who has denied using any banned substances, has said the samples were mishandled and that the results were based on flawed science.
The USADA is scheduled to hold a hearing on Landis' appeal on May 14. The French anti-doping agency postponed its decision on whether to suspend him after Landis agreed not to race in France this year.
