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RACY LANGUAGE: LANDIS FAMILY VALUES
Tim Maloney-European Editor
June 18, 2008
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Heard from a guy that he saw Floyd Landis riding in Hermosa Beach today. The guys said Floyd looked lean and fit. That goes with another Landis sighting in SouCal a few months ago from some other guys, who saw him and his good friend Dave Zabriskie in a cafe in Malibu during an long training ride. Currently, with just a few weeks to go before the 2008 Tour De France, Landis is awating the decision of his appeal to his suspension by USADA from the Court For Arbitration In Sport in Switzerland.
I wonder just what Landis is thinking when he hears about the upcoming Tour De France? One can only wonder what must go through the head of the combative Mennonite-raised ex-farmboy turned cycling pariah these days. How about "I can beat any of those guys"? I for one still believe that Floyd Landis is
innocent...enough. That at post-2006 Tour, he was shafted by the powers that be in cycling, the International Cycling Union and the ASO people who run Le Tour. That his doper Phonak team sold him out and that the way Landis handled himself and the entire media relations game from 2006 through the pathetic parody of a hearing by USADA in 2007 was simply a total disaster for Floyd. After a brilliant PR campaign, Landis had convinced a lot of people in America that he was innocent. But thanks to a few dumb moves by his associate Will Geoghegan at the USADA hearing, Landis lost the moral high ground forever. I remember following the career of this extremely talented farmboy from Pennsylvania turned pro mountainbiker turned world class road rider since his Mercury days. What a loss to American cycling.
What's next for Floyd? With a new hip and a maybe new team, Landis might not be out of the picture yet. Landis will be 33 this October and could still have a few good years on the bike. He may have to; reports have indicated that he has spent over $2 million dollars on his defense. His suspension runs until January 30th, 2009 and maybe we'll see Floyd Landis at the start of the Tour Of California, a race he dominated in 2006, next February in a Rock Racing jersey! But oh how the worm turns; just in time for the powers that be in cycling to screw Floyd again. Yeah, let Levi ride, but let Floyd ride too.
The pic above? When Floyd's family came down from Farmersville, Pennsylvania to the 2004 Tour of Georgia to visit.
Long Live Landis Family Values.
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