Lefevere: Sue Landis
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ByEurosport
Published 09/08/2006 at 13:05 GMT
Patrick Lefevere, the President of the International Association of Professional Cycling Teams, has threatened to sue disgraced Tour de France winner Floyd Landis. The Belgian manager of Quick Step has raised the idea of legal action to protect the image
CYCLING 2006 Tour de France lefevere
Image credit: Imago
American rider Landis tested positive for unnatural levels of testosterone during the race which he won a fortnight ago. Despite both A and B samples returning positive results, the 30-year-old has categorically denied any allegations of doping.
On Tuesday Landis attacked the International Cycling Union and branded his positive drug test as "fatally flawed".
"We should take him to court for what he is now doing to cycling," said Lefevere to Sportwereld.be.
"Why not? Why not take the American approach of dealing with things and apply it here? As long as Landis continues to maintain that he knows nothing, this sort of scenario becomes more likely.
"I feel like throwing up when I hear him. Landis has turned the clock back 20 years."
Landis was sacked by his team Phonak after failing last week's B test. Despite the swift action taken by the Swiss team, however, Lefevere has called for their immediate expulsion from the ProTour.
Phonak are no strangers to doping scandals, the team having suffered ten such cases in the last three years. High profile offenders include 2004 Olympic time-trial champion Tyler Hamilton, 2006 Giro runner-up Jose Enrique Gutierrez and Colombian veteran Santiago Botero.
Lefevere said: "Look, one doping case per year is possible to explain, but ten in three years? Teams like that should be out of the ProTour.
"I had warned the Tour management before the start of the Tour. I'm certainly not a judge and the fate of Phonak is not yet sealed, but I would gladly like an explanation."
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