Awaiting the jury: Hamilton makes his case

AP/Ed Andrieski

ESPN.com | Tyler Hamilton appeals to CAS to overturn doping ban

Tyler Hamilton's appeal hearing proceeded as expected today, at the Brown Palace hotel in Denver.

Outside the hearing, Hamilton refused comment, except to maintain his innocence of the blood doping charge that led to his 2-year suspension.

Looking for a summary? The New York Times did a pretty good overview of the test and its possible issues back in May 2005. In short, Hamilton was found to have someone else's blood in his bloodstream, a result confirmed by his 'B' sample and made doubly suspicious in light of the only other positive test so far: Hamilton's teammate Santiago Perez.

Hamilton's defense has suggested that Hamilton might have had a chimeric twin in utero, and that some small amount of the twin's blood might continue to show up on blood test even today.

Doping enforcers point out that the test has been used for many years in obstetrics, and that even Hamilton's defense team doesn't deny the presence of someone else's blood cells.

By the way, "Wired to Win: Surviving the Tour de France" is making the rounds. Before Hamilton's suspension, the movie, tentatively called "Brainpower", was to follow Hamilton through the 2003 Tour, and teach about the human body and brain while doing it. After the fall, filmmakers changed course, and Baden Cooke and Jimmy Casper get most of the screen time.