After two years of fighting with U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) to validate himself and get his 2006 Tour De France trophy back, Floyd Landis has finally crapped out. The Court of Arbitration for Sport (where is that, The Hague?) decided that Landis had indeed taken steroids and was not the victim of a cover-up like he claimed. Landis’ cost for all of this? $2 million, with $100 G’s still having to go to USADA for their legal fees. Wonder how much a teste goes for on the open market. That way, Landis could help his money situation out and be like Lance Armstrong. Apparently, it’s going to be the only way.

[T]he CAS panel said the lab that analyzed Landis’ positive test results used some “less than ideal laboratory practices, but not lies, fraud, forgery or cover-ups,” the way the Landis camp had alleged.

Bankrolled through several private sources, including a fundraising campaign he launched on his own, Landis forced a case that cost more than $2 million — a burden on him, but also a strain on the bottom lines of both USADA and WADA, which shared the cost of prosecuting the case.

Who led his fundraising drives, Barack Obama? That’s a lot of money given to a man who was proven to be a cheater and a liar even before this trial got underway. We doubt his sponsor Photek gave him anything. Not because of the bad press, but because after two years of always seeing that jersey, we still can’t tell you what they do. Talk about bad brand awareness.

Cyclist Floyd Landis strikes out for final time in doping case [USA Today]
Image [USA Today]