MURRIETA -- Local cyclists' reactions ranged from resignation to dismay Thursday after they learned that a cycling organization's decision had stripped Murrieta resident Floyd Landis of his 2006 Tour de France title.

Southwest County cyclists, who frequently spot Landis on training rides, were elated by his stunning come-from-behind victory in the final stages of the 2,200-mile race last year. But they were let down days later when testosterone levels in a sample of Landis' urine pointed toward doping.

The cyclist's appeal has dragged out for more than a year. Attorneys for Landis and the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency argued the case before an arbitration panel in Malibu in May; riders in Landis' adopted hometown shook their heads as a third and then fourth month passed with no verdict.

For several, the surprise at the verdict itself Thursday was comparatively mild. The process was tilted hopelessly against their hero, they said, and, in any case, athletes have virtually never won appeals of doping rulings.

Several of the local cyclists who have spotted Landis in bike shops and on the roads recently said they can only marvel at the man they once saw zipping by them on an 8 percent uphill grade.

"For people here, he's always going to be a hometown hero," Temecula cyclist Rick Peoples said. "I don't think this decision affects any of us."

Landis moved to Southern California as an adult after growing up in small-town Pennsylvania. He has been a professional cyclist since 1999, even riding as a teammate of Lance Armstrong in several of Armstrong's seven Tour wins.

Representatives of the International Cycling Union said the organization would formally strip Landis of his Tour title and hand it to the runner-up as a result of the three-member panel's decision.

The two panelists who voted against Landis said irregularities with initial lab results were disconcerting. The dissenting panelist said those irregularities should have invalidated the doping agency's case altogether.

At I.E. Bikes off Los Alamos Road in Murrieta, where Landis frequently shops for inner tubes and chains, a co-owner and a customer made similar arguments. Matt Barringer, who co-owns the shop and considers Landis a friend, said he believes the stakes are simply too high for the doping agency to invalidate any test results.

"If the Anti-Doping Agency came out with a not-guilty verdict, it would open up a huge can of worms," Barringer said. "There would be a flood of appeals."

Employees of the shop described Landis as a down-to-earth guy who usually waves when he passes other riders on the Santa Rosa Plateau, in Wine Country or toward the top of Palomar Mountain.

One said Landis has been known to offer advice on technique and bike mechanics. Landis fielded such questions from a friendly crowd at UC Riverside in July, when he dropped in for a 90-minute signing of his book, "Positively False: the Real Story of How I Won the Tour de France."

Book sales and a legal defense fund have helped Landis mount an unusually vigorous case against the agency that some have estimated in the hundreds of thousands of dollars. Still, Peoples said a year without income from cash prizes or corporate sponsorship has probably taken its toll. Phonak, a Swiss company that makes hearing aids, fired Landis from its cycling team soon after the doping allegations surfaced.

Les Campbell, who owns Cycopath bike shop in Temecula, said Landis had dropped in Monday with a damaged chain. Campbell said he doesn't know whether or not the panel's ruling is fair or accurate.

"It's sad for cycling," he added.

Contact staff writer Chris Bagley at (951) 676-4315, Ext. 2615, or cbagley@californian.com.