Current team manager says there’s no likelihood rider or his coach will face trial
The manager of the team Floyd Landis is currently racing with, Orca Velo, has ruled out the prospect of the rider ever standing trial for computer hacking. Landis and his coach Arnie Baker were yesterday ordered to stand trial in France for the alleged breach of computers belonging to the French Anti-Doping Laboratory (LNDD).
It is claimed that Landis and Baker used the information gained to try to overturn Landis’ conviction for doping during the 2006 Tour de France.
That information, which was used in the anti-doping trial and also in Baker’s powerpoint presentations, included sensitive details about the laboratory equipment and procedures.
Wayde Hudson, the manager of the Orca Velo team Landis is competing in the Tour of Southland with, said that the latest development was simply about keeping the previous international arrest warrant alive.
“If nothing was done, it would have lapsed. The question was whether the warrant should stay open or not,” he told AP.
"But the warrant was never served on Floyd. So the suggestion he will stand trial in France is a ridiculous statement because they still have to serve him. It's about his having somehow received some information that may have been obtained illegally from a computer in a laboratory in France and there's been no substance to it.
"The prosecutor doesn't want to push it but the judge disagreed. By making the decision the judge is keeping the case alive. He (Landis) is annoyed that it has escalated unnecessarily when there's no substance to it. But he's not losing any sleep over it and is focused on the race.”
He is currently fourth overall in the event, which finishes on Saturday.
The French state prosecutor had initially ruled there was insufficient evidence to charge Landis with hacking. However, according to AFP yesterday, that decision was overruled by the 'Tribunal Correctionel' criminal court in Nanterre, close to Paris.
According to the lawyer Frederik-Karel Canoy, who is acting on the behalf of the Vivendi media company, the duo are charged with "fraudulently breaking into a computer system.”
Landis was deemed to have abnormally-high levels of testosterone in his system during the 2006 Tour de France. He denied the charges, battling for over three years to clear his name.
Part of his defence strategy was to meet the public in town hall meetings at various locations in the US, using Baker’s powerpoint presentations and other information to back up his case. He received donations from many of those present, and used this money to try to fight the charges.
He admitted his guilt earlier this year and said that he and others were part of systematic doping practices on the US Postal Service team. This has led to a widespread federal investigation headed by Jeff Novitzky.
Landis has said that he is glad to tell the truth about his past. “It took me longer than it probably should have,” he said at the New Pathways for Pro Cycling conference in Geelong in September.
“As much as it hurts to sit and tell my mom I lied, and to tell other people that I lied, it's better than the alternative.”
He has said that he regrets taking donations from people and hopes to eventually be able to repay those who handed over cash for his defence.