Landis Must Forfeit Tour Title

Cyclist Floyd Landis lost his doping case today, and must give up his 2006 Tour de France title after arbitrators voted to uphold test results showing Landis cheated during his victory. He was banned from cycling until 2009; short a successful appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, the American will be the first to lose a Tour title.

In an 84-page decision, the three-member panel confirmed the accuracy of a carbon-isotope ration analysis, though the lab work did “lack the vigor the Panel would expect.” For his part, the leader of cycling’s governing body said he was pleased, charging that Landis “got a highly qualified legal team who tried to baffle everybody with science and public relations.”