Do you believe Floyd Landis? If so, you can sign a petition to support him.

A story on the bicycle Web site, www.bikebiz.co.uk, tells of a petition that is being circulated to support Landis, the Farmersville native who lost the Tour de France title because he failed a drug test.

The story does not say where the petition originated or what organization is pushing the petition.

The story begins:

"The Floyd Landis doping scandal is a mess, and a stain on cycling. But what if it's a scandal not caused by Landis? What if Landis is telling the truth? What if Landis has been set-up?

"That's the premise of a petition aimed not so much at supporting the athlete but questioning the credibility of the Paris-based drug testing lab and the unholy haste of Dick Pound, head of the World Anti-doping Authority.

The petition, according to the story, asks "for transparent and independent scrutiny of the staff and working practices at the Chatenay-Malabry laboratory, the lab at the center of the Floyd Landis case and which leaked Lance Armstrong's aged urine testing results last year.

"Could it be the Landis scandal isn't about a rogue rider but a rogue lab technician?"

The petition asks for an internal WADA inquiry into the conduct of its chief, Dick Pound.

"The organization's president may have the best of intentions but his attacks on athletes, before due process has been carried out, often fall far short of the standards you would expect of the head of a body aiming to eradicate drugs in sport," says the petition.

"The world of competitive cycling — and sport in general — needs to be free of performance-enhancing drugs but if the issues above are not fully explored, and the results put into the public domain, question marks will remain over the credibility of WADA and the Châtenay-Malabry lab."

A link to the full petition can be found on the www.bikebiz.co.uk Web site.

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