Testimony in Landis Hearing Continues, and Former Manager Heads for Rehab

May 21, 04:05 PM

Current Headlines: By EDDIE PELLS

MALIBU, Calif. (AP) - While Floyd Landis' former manager prepared to enter rehab Monday, a friendly witness for Landis testified he had grave concerns about the evidence being used to prove the Tour de France champion's positive doping test.

"I'm terribly sorry, but if someone's life depends on it, his career depends on it, you don't go on assumptions," said Wolfram Meier-Augenstein, an expert in the kind of testing that produced Landis' positive results for synthetic testosterone.

Landis contends poor testing methods - "chromatography" is the technical word - are responsible for unreliable results that call into question the validity of the positive test from Stage 17 of last year's Tour.

"Like shooting fish in a barrel," Meier-Augenstein called the process of trying to analyze what he said is sloppy data.

Landis lawyers produced test data that they claim strays far from World Anti-Doping Agency standards.

"But they're all cheaters?" Landis lawyer Maurice Suh asked Meier-Augenstein, mockingly suggesting U.S. Anti-Doping Agency officials would disregard the rules to catch a cheat.

"Even cheaters have a right to a fair hearing and to have data used against them that can be proved," Meier-Augenstein said.

The Landis case seemed to finally be picking up steam, this testimony coming after Landis took the stand Saturday to tell his story and repeat denials that he ever used performance-enhancing drugs.

He was scheduled to return to the stand Monday afternoon for what should be a hostile cross-examination.

Monday's proceedings began at about the same time Landis' new manager released a letter that was posted on the "Trust But Verify" blog, acknowledging former manager Will Geoghegan is "entering a rehabilitation program today in an effort to address his problems."

Geoghegan called Greg LeMond last Wednesday night and, posing as LeMond's uncle, threatened to reveal the secret that LeMond had been sexually abused as a child if LeMond showed up to testify.

Moments after LeMond told that story Thursday, Geoghegan was fired. When he testified Saturday, Landis said he had no idea Geoghegan was making those phone calls.

"I knew there was a problem," Landis said of his reaction upon realizing Geoghegan had made the call. "I was traumatized having him tell me that story in the first place. There are very few things I can imagine would happen to a person that are worse than that. To make light of that, I can't even put words to it."

The letter from the new manager, Brent Kay, reiterated Landis' feelings.

"The past few months have been remarkably stressful for Will and ... resulted in the unfortunate and embarrassing incident last Wednesday," Kay wrote. "While Floyd and the entire team find Will's actions regrettable and abhorrent, he is still a friend and we wish him the best in his recovery."

Testimony is scheduled to end Wednesday. A three-man arbitration panel will decide whether to uphold Landis' positive doping test, which could make him the first person in the 104-year history of the Tour to have his title stripped because of a doping offence.