Floyd Landis was stripped of his 2006 Tour de France title and will receive a two-year ban after losing his appeal of a positive doping test on a 2-1 decision by the US arbitrators.

US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) officials and Landis’ attorneys gave evidence to the three-man arbitration panel over nine days in May, the US cycling star maintaining his innocence despite testing positive for synthetic testosterone.

“I am innocent and we proved I am innocent,” Landis said in a statement.

Possible path
Landis now has only one possible path to regain his crown from the 103rd Tour and avoid a suspension through the end of January of 2009 — appealing the verdict to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).

Pearl Piatt, a spokeswoman for Landis, said there has been no decision by the US cyclist on whether or not to press his case before CAS, which has jurisdiction to render a final verdict.

“We’re still digesting the report,” she said. “They are still reading the opinion closely and looking at it.”

At one stage, Landis had said the cost of making such a fight might be more than he could afford, with the US arbitration appeal reportedly costing more than two million dollars. The International Cycling Union, the sport’s global governing body, declared Oscar Pereiro the 2006 Tour de France champion.  The Spaniard finished second, 57 seconds behind Landis.