The rebelliouis Mennonite  from Lancaster County  Pennsylvania will keep fighting in his quest to retain the yellow jersey he won “fair and square” at the 2006 Tour de France.

Floyd Landis announced on his website, “Floyd Fairness Fund”,  that he will appeal his doping case to the Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS). Landis lost a split decision last month in his challenge to the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency ruling that he had doped on the decisive 17th stage at the  2006.

“My hope is that the CAS panel will review my case on the basis of the facts and the science, and to approach my appeal from the principle that the anti-doping authorities must uphold the highest levels of appropriate process, technical skill, science and professional standards to pronounce judgment on matters that hold an athlete’s career, accomplishments and livelihood in the balance,” Landis wrote on the Fairness Fund website.

A three-man American Arbitration Association Panel voted  2-1 against Landis, but both the majority opinion and the minority opinion concluded that the French lab, Laboratoire National de Dépistage et du Dopage, had so botched the A sample test (which showed an 11-1 ratio of epitestosterone to testosterone), the test could not be trusted as reliable and was thrown out.

The majority and minority differed on the carbon-isotope test on the Landis’ B sample, with the majority ruling that the French lap could be trusted to conduct the more advanced test (which showed  synthetic testosterone in Landis’ system, according to the lab).  The minority opinion, written by Christopher Campbell, was that the lab couldn’t be trusted to do the more advanced test when it botched the first one so badly.

In his dissent, Campbell quoted St. Luke at the beginning of the text: “Whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much. . . So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches . .”

Landis’ decision to appeal comes as the Tour de France is preparing to award the 2006 yellow jersey to  Oscar  Pereiro on Monday in Spain.  Considering Landis has yet to exhaust his appeals, the move to award Pereiro the yellow seems premature,  but letour  bailed on Landis not long after the positive A test was leaked  by the French lab in  violation of World Anti-Doping Agency policy.

Landis acknowledged that he may not win his appeal, but expressed hope that his case will spur changes in the system now in place.

“Doping in sport seems to continue to get worse under the current anti-doping system, and this is only a part of the huge amount of proof that the WADA/USADA system needs a total overhaul,” he wrote. “I will continue to work to clear my name and fight for change in the name of fairness and justice. No matter the final outcome of my case, there must be change in the current system if athletes can ever hope to compete on a level playing field and return to the joy and inspiration that sport can bring all of us.”

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