Hamilton's hemo hearing is here

denverpost.com | Hamilton's future on line at hearing

Tyler Hamilton will face the US Anti-Doping Agency starting tomorrow in Denver. Hamilton has maintained his innocence after two positive tests for illegal blood transfusions, and will apparently attack the validity of the test itself, which was first used in cycling last year.

Hamilton's attorney:

"But here the validity of the test has to be established. We've preached all along it's not a valid test. Maybe we know something they don't."

The Post also talked to a professor of immunopharmacology, who said the data the test provides are "very accurate. The principles used in cyclists' blood doping cases are very accurate."

Outside of sports, the test is used in organ donations.

John Wilcockson, editorial director at VeloNews, told the Post he thinks Hamilton will win this challenge:

"For sport, it's a brand-new test, and Tyler's the first one coming out allegedly positive," Wilcockson said. "I'm always a bit skeptical of new tests, especially with the degree of scientific analysis with this one."

The standard suspension for doping infractions is two years.