Floyd Landis....hacker?
The story is available on hundreds of sites by now. A French judge issued an arrest warrant - apparently only valid in France - for one Floyd Landis. Pierre Bordry, president of the French anti-doping agency, said Landis is wanted for illegally hacking into the files of an anti-doping laboratory while preparing for his defense on doping charges.
All this happened in 2007. They're just getting around to bringing charges now? Why is there a whiff of over-ripe cheese about this?
Landis was found guilty of doping. He appealed and lost. He cannot find a spot on a professional team despite having served his suspension. The French really seem to be vindictive over this whole affair since the basis for the warrant was a trace to the IP address of Landis' former coach, Arnie Baker. Unless there's much more they're not revealing, the information connecting this to Landis is sketchy.
But here's a thought - somewhere in France there's undoubtedly been some computer hacking during the Tour. And that pesky American, Lance Armstrong, has been in the country when it happened. It's very possible that Armstrong, as a secret member of an American cabal out to discredit French cycling, culture, haute cuisine, and their execrable cars, hacked into all those computers while hiding in plain sight within the pro peleton. It's only a little more far-fetched than the charges against Landis.
All this happened in 2007. They're just getting around to bringing charges now? Why is there a whiff of over-ripe cheese about this?
Landis was found guilty of doping. He appealed and lost. He cannot find a spot on a professional team despite having served his suspension. The French really seem to be vindictive over this whole affair since the basis for the warrant was a trace to the IP address of Landis' former coach, Arnie Baker. Unless there's much more they're not revealing, the information connecting this to Landis is sketchy.
But here's a thought - somewhere in France there's undoubtedly been some computer hacking during the Tour. And that pesky American, Lance Armstrong, has been in the country when it happened. It's very possible that Armstrong, as a secret member of an American cabal out to discredit French cycling, culture, haute cuisine, and their execrable cars, hacked into all those computers while hiding in plain sight within the pro peleton. It's only a little more far-fetched than the charges against Landis.
Labels: doping, floyd landis, lance armstrong, tour de france
posted by Ed W at 6:44 PM
5 Comments:
"Landis was found guilty of doping. He appealed and lost. He cannot find a spot on a professional team despite having served his suspension."
And that's as it should be too IMO. Professional cycling doesn't want, nor need drug cheats. I don't want to watch Vinokourov, Ricco or any of their doped up mates racing again, they don't deserve my time.
It's not a case of forgive and forget, it's a permanently tarnished reputation.
Gee Lemmiwinks,I hope for your sake that you never make a mistake and break a law or lose anohters trust. Try compassion for another human being why don't you? Do I like Landis? Not really. Do I think he is a doper? From what I have seen and read, yes. Does he (and anyone who has a period of transgression in thier life) deserve a second chance? Yes. There is only one type of person who does not deserve a second chance and that is those who intentionally hurt the weak (kids, old folks, special needs). It is folks like you who make me wonder why the human race is top of the food chain at times, but I'll forgive you for it.
Thanks for the news CycleDog- first "landis hacker" result on Google. Nice work!
Ha ha! Oh Cory, what's the weather like up there on your high horse? You're quite the comedian aren't you? I can just hear the Landis testimony now "Honest sir, I don't know how that testosterone patch got there, it was a mistake. I thought it was a nicotine patch. Yeah, that's it, 'cause I'm trying to give up smoking."
Or how about Rico's? "Blood doping? You mean that was *blood* in that IV? My coach said it was tomato juice and he wouldn't lie to me so the whole thing was just a terrible mistake!"
Dragging "anyone who has a period of transgression in thier life" into the argument is simply obfuscation on your part since the discussion is about drug cheats in cycling (who cannot help but be aware of exactly what they were doing when they did it).
As for your self-righteous forgiveness, keep it. If there's one thing I find more irritating than drug cheats in cycling it'd have to be smug holier than thou types.
My post was meant to point out that Landis has served his time in suspension, and whether he finds a spot on another team is entirely up to that team's management. However, the French brought up an alleged hacking incident involving the IP address of Landis' coach, not Landis himself. Now, I'm not familiar with the French court system, but I'd presume that some additional evidence is necessary to tie Landis into the hacking attempt, unless the French are just fishing, or they're erecting an legal obstacle to him ever entering their country again. In the absence of any evidence forthcoming from the French supporting their warrant for Landis' arrest, it really appears they're merely being vindictive. If there is any such evidence, I'd like to hear about it.
Hi Ed. My (very limited) understanding of the case is that Landis used documents obtained via the hacking in his defence. Ironically it seems to be this action that has actually alerted the lab to the fact that they had been compromised.
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