The Tour was close, and then Floyd had a bad day and lost a lot of time. The next day he came back with an incredible ride and made up a lot of the time he lost. Then he won the time trial and took the yellow jersey and won the race. It was dramatic and very fun to watch.
Then, he failed a doping test and was accused of using testosterone. He denied it, fought it and this went on for years. He filed appeals, lost his battle in court twice and still vehemently denied he cheated. I'm pretty sure he even wrote a book.
A few months after he won the Tour, right in the midst of his doping scandal, I had a chance to go for a group ride with him. I thought it was pretty cool, and really wanted to believe he was clean. He was a really nice guy. Nice guys don't cheat, right?
There I was sitting on the wheel of the winner of the Tour de France thinking working in the bike industry was a great thing. I thought it would be a story I might tell for a long time. I don't tell anyone about it....ever. Riding with Floyd is nothing to be proud of.
Now, years later he admits to doping: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703691804575255410855321120.html?mod=djemalertNEWS
This man is so clearly starved for attention. Now that no one cares anymore about his claims of not doping, he decides to come clean (so to speak). And when does he do it? In the midst of the biggest stage race in the United States. And even worse, he's trying to drag Lance down with him. Misery loves company, I guess.
I don't know if Lance is clean or not, but I do know that Lance has been tested more than any other athlete and he hasn't failed a test yet. Until he does....
I think this is my favorite line from the article: In the emails, he expressed frustration about the inability of antidoping officials to clean up the sport.
Really, Floyd? You're frustrated they can't clean up the sport? This reminds me of the episode of Seinfeld when George refuses to date a girl because she's bald and Elaine says to George, "...YOU'RE BALD."
Floyd, just do us all a favor and sink into obscurity and stop trying to drag others down with you.
2 comments:
Your reaction seems to be the same reaction many fans, players, reporters and management had when Jose Canseco published his first book.
He was called a liar by players; attention seeker, told to shut up, but in the end, as loathsome as Canseco might be, he was right. Maybe fans, players, owners, etc didn't WANT to believe him or didn't want the story told, but it lead to hearings and an attempt to clean up the game (and yeah, it trashed McGwire, Sosa and Bonds, but they were cheating so I don't feel for them)
I don't know if Landis is telling the truth or not, but I'll keep my mind open for a while.
Ross
he took PED’s from 2002-2006, but he also threw several of his teammates under the bus....
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