American cyclist Floyd Landis has asked French anti-doping officials to delay proceedings against him, the Los Angeles Times reported Saturday.

A spokesman for Landis told the newspaper that his defense team wants to complete his appeal of charges from the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) before facing the French inquiry, rather than deal with both cases at once.

WADA president Dick Pound said earlier this month that his agency had asked the French organization AFLD to suspend its hearing. While lacking the power to compel the French government group to comply, Pound was optimistic about the outcome.

"They seem ready to do that, although without renouncing their judicial rights," Pound said, according to the Times.

Landis's defense team said it expects the AFLD will announce a decision after February 8, the day of the scheduled hearing. Landis does not plan to attend, and it is possible the hearing will be recessed shortly after a formal start.

The French hearing could be a costly distraction to Landis's WADA fight, especially if the two panels examining his case reach opposite conclusions.

"We believe it's strongly in Floyd's interest to not have to defend two actions simultaneously in two different countries," said legal adviser Maurice Suh.

Landis tested positive for a skewed testosterone-epitestosterone ratio after Stage 17 of the 2006 Tour de France. He has denied doping and alleges there were procedural inconsistencies by the Paris laboratory that analyzed his urine samples.

No date has been set for his hearing before a U.S. Anti-doping Agency arbitration panel. If the doping positive is upheld, Landis faces a two-year ban from competition and the loss of his Tour de France title. He could be banned from racing in France should he lose before the AFLD.

Should arbitrators find in Landis's favor but the AFLD rule against him, Landis could be allowed to compete elsewhere while being banned from the biggest race in the world.