French Press: At the cafe in Paris, Thursday evening

Eddy Merckx will not testify

A poster over at DPF had this story much earlier today, but I couldn't find any confirmation in my usual European sources. Finally, l'Equipe posted this story late this afternoon:

Called as a witness for the defense of Floyd Landis in his hearings in Los Angeles, Eddy Merckx has no intention of going to California.

"What would I be going to do there? I know nothing about about this case, and I don't see what there is about it that I could help clear up," Eddy Merckx declared Thursday to the news agency Belga. "I even wonder why they invited me to come testify. I am completely extraneous to this story, and as far as that goes, I don't want to be mixed up in it, not up close, not at a distance. I have nothing to say about it, and I will therefore not go to testify." Another former Tour de France winner, Greg LeMond, has also been called as a witness.