Slide show

2006 Tour de France Landis finishes first in race that had heroics, crashes and a drug scandal that rocked the race even before it began.

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It was all part of the longest, most expensive and most bizarre case in modern anti-doping history, one Landis insisted be held in public to reveal the evils of the establishment he hoped to knock down.

“This case is a further sad example of an athlete who cheated but persisted in denying,” WADA president John Fahey said. “I hope that athletes who may be tempted to cheat will take this lesson to heart and that this case will serve as a strong deterrent.”

Landis’ case included some scandalous revelations during the public hearing, nothing more shocking than when former Tour de France winner Greg LeMond entered the hearing room.

LeMond told of being sexually abused as a child, confiding that to Landis, then receiving a call from Landis’ manager the night before his testimony threatening to disclose LeMond’s secret to the world if LeMond showed up.

Though it made for great drama, it was damaging for Landis. In the end, the only aspect of the LeMond testimony the panel considered was LeMond’s claim that Landis had admitted to him that he doped — and the panel disregarded that testimony, saying it couldn’t be used as an admission.

Not surprisingly, LeMond’s name did not surface in the CAS decision.

Meanwhile, Landis’ future plans aren’t yet known, though he has said he is hurting financially. What’s for sure is he will go down as the first cyclist in the history of the Tour to have his title stripped for a doping violation — and as a pariah in the minds of the cycling authorities he fought.

“The only sympathy I have is that he didn’t accept the first decision and that it cost him a huge amount of money,” said Pat McQuaid, president of cycling’s international federation. “Likewise, he did a huge amount of damage to the sport and that, from the UCI’s point of view, is very difficult to work with.”