The death of cycling in U.S.
Posted: Friday, May 18, 2007 12:27 AM
Big-time American professional bike racing died Thursday. Cause of death was a massive loss of integrity. Blame Floyd Landis.
On Wednesday, three-time champion Greg LeMond revealed that Landis’ agent tried to blackmail LeMond. It was, as described by LeMond, incredibly crude and nasty.
Landis won last year’s Tour de France, the first person in eight years not named Lance Armstrong to wear the yellow jersey into Paris on the scandal-ridden race’s final day. But race officials said that Landis had tested positive for an excess of testosterone. A test of the back-up samples confirmed the initial test.
Landis has been fighting the test results ever since, sometimes in bizarre ways. Initially he claimed the positive test was the result of one too many shots of whiskey. He eventually settled on the time-tested defense of blaming the French lab that handled the tests. Hey, if the French did it, it must be wrong, right?
Last August, LeMond, who’s been highly critical of the drugs that have come to infest the race, called Landis and urged him to come clean. Landis, who never directly confessed, said he couldn’t because it would hurt too many people.
LeMond told Landis that keeping that secret wasn’t healthy. To illustrate the point, LeMond told how he’s suffered because he never made public sexual abuse he suffered as a child.
So now it’s May and LeMond is getting ready to testify at Landis’ hearing, which had been going on for two days. And LeMond gets a call from someone saying if he takes the stand, his secret will be revealed.
Here’s the clumsy part: Landis’ agent, Will Geoghegan, made the call. It was traced to his phone, and he tried to apologize to LeMond after the former champ revealed all at the hearing.
Landis apparently fired Geoghegan almost immediately, but in the cycling community, that’s not being taken as a sign that Landis had nothing to do with it. Apparently, there was a posting prior to the hearing on a cycling blog that is attributed to Landis in which he writes:
“However, if he ever opens his mouth again and the word Floyd comes out, I will tell you all some things that you will wish you didn't know and unfortunately I will have entered the race to the bottom which is now in progress.”
I couldn’t find the original post – as far as I can tell, it’s been removed. But it was repeated on the blog steroid nation. Another post on Thursday’s hearing is here.
Then there’s this statement on the discussion forum at dailypeloton.com:
“Let me sum up my opinion on Lemonds' statements. I would ask Satan for advice before calling Lemond.” It’s signed “Floyd,” and the cycling community feels it’s not just any old Floyd but the real deal.
We’ve already had no end of accusations that Armstrong doped his way to seven straight titles and an endless string of suspensions of top riders. When Landis came up positive, it was one more blow.
And now this – blackmail of the worst sort.
Who knew guys who wear Spandex could be so vicious?
There is no way anyone outside of his immediate family is going to believe anything Landis says after this. And there’s also no way any regular American sports fan is going to give two minutes to the Tour de France again. Not if this is the kind of person who rides in it, not if this is how they fight.
Who needs it? If we want drug scandals, it’s easier to stick with baseball.
