The French anti-doping laboratory that tested cyclist Floyd Landis's "B" sample has acknowledged a paperwork mistake, with its director confirming that an incorrect identification number appeared in the official analysis report.
Jacques de Ceaurriz, head of the National Anti-Doping Laboratory near Paris, said the error was a simple transcription mistake and did not undermine the validity of the test or the integrity of the sample. The lab had recorded a number differing by one digit from Landis's actual sample code.
Landis's legal team has seized on such discrepancies, with attorney Howard Jacobs previously arguing in a letter to the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency that a positive "B" sample result was linked to a number not assigned to his client.
The 2006 Tour de France title has been in dispute since Landis, 31, tested positive for abnormally high testosterone levels during a key stage of the race. Race organizers no longer recognize him as champion.
Landis is challenging the findings at a hearing in the United States. A ruling against him would cost him the title and likely result in a two-year ban from competition.
Historical summary. TurkishPress restated this wire report, first published in November 2006, in its own words.