Floyd Landis Doping Controversy: Data Hacking?

TEMECULA -Temecula-based cyclist Floyd Landis, who was stripped of his 2006 Tour de France win for using a banned performance-enhancing drug, was being sought today on international arrest warrant issued by a French judge.

Landis, 34, was rumored to be at the Tour de Palm Springs event this past weekend, but News Channel 3 has confirmed he was at the Sund Stage Race in Arizona.

He allegedly hacked into a computer in Chatenay-Malabry lab in September of 2006, according to the warrant. It was unclear where Landis was, but he has apparently “Tweeted” that he was riding in the Boulevard area on Feb. 6.

The French lab was conducting doping tests on Landis and later found he used artificial testosterone when he won the Tour de France in 2006.

Landis was stripped of his victory and banned from competitive cycling for two years. He was the first person ever to be stripped of a Tour de France victory.

A network of hackers were involved in breaking into the laboratory’s computers, and French officials traced them to Landis, Pierre Bordry, the head of a French anti-doping agency, said.

Landis fought the decision and during the appeals process, presented information taken from the laboratory’s computers, Bordry said. Landis’ appeal was eventually rejected.

His two year ban ended in 2009 when he joined the OUCH Pro Cycling Team and rode the Tour of California in February.