Los Angeles ? Floyd Landis will appeal his doping case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, his last chance to retain his 2006 Tour de France title.

“I want to take this opportunity to say again, that I am innocent of the doping allegations against me,” Landis said Wednesday in a statement announcing his decision. “I hope that the arbitrators of the case will fairly address the facts showing that the French laboratory made mistakes, which resulted in a false positive. Although the process of proving my innocence has been difficult for me and my family, I will not stop trying to prove my innocence.”

An arbitration panel ruled against Landis last month, upholding the results of a test that showed the American cyclist used synthetic testosterone to fuel his spectacular comeback Tour victory. That decision meant Landis must forfeit his title and is subject to a two-year ban, retroactive to Jan. 30.

Landis repeatedly has denied using performance-enhancing drugs.

In a news release on the Floyd Fairness Fund Web site, Landis said, “Knowing that the accusations against me are simply wrong, and having risked all my energy and resources – including those of my family, friends and supporters – to show clearly that I won the 2006 Tour de France fair and square, I will continue to fight for what I know is right.”

If Landis loses his appeal, he’ll be the first person in the 105-year history of the Tour to lose the title because of a doping offense.

After the Sept. 20 ruling, Landis said he was unsure if he would appeal, not knowing if he wanted to spend another $2 million and the untold emotional cost of going through the process again.