Floyd's last chance?

Depending on how this turns out Floyd might be looking for a Dualthreat.net jersey!

GENEVA (AP)—Floyd Landis will make his final appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport in New York next week in an effort to regain the 2006 Tour de France title he lost because of a positive doping test.

The hearing that begins March 19 is expected to last six days.

“It will be a hearing behind closed doors unlike the previous arbitration hearing,” CAS secretary-general Matthieu Reeb told The Associated Press on Tuesday.

Landis went to CAS, world sport’s highest appeal body, after losing a public hearing by the American Arbitration Association last year. That panel upheld the results of a laboratory test that indicated Landis used synthetic testosterone during a comeback win in the 17th stage of the 2006 Tour.

Landis went on to win the title in Paris but was later stripped of his yellow jersey.

The 32-year-old rider from Pennsylvania has been fighting an expensive legal action to regain his title and reputation. He is banned from cycling by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency until the end of January 2009.

Landis submitted appeal papers to CAS last November in which he stated that “to wrongly strip a champion of his victory due to a flawed test is much worse than to have an athlete cheat his way to victory.”

Landis claims the French testing laboratory made mistakes and returned a false positive test on his sample.

The CAS hearing, likely to be conducted at a Manhattan law firm, represents the last chance for Landis to clear his name.

Reeb said it was not known when the arbitrators’ final ruling would be given.

“There will be a statement at the end of the hearing to say when it will be issued,” Reeb said.