Floyd Landis Admits Doping and Alleges Use by Others
I believe most of Floyd Landis’s statements regarding the systemic corruption in professional cycling. I imagine from my own experiences that today he is paying a heavy price for his honesty and I support Floyd in his attempt to free himself from his past. I hope that others- fans, riders and sponsor’s embrace this as an opportunity to bring about positive change in the sport.
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Updated 5/21/2010
To be clear, Floyd Landis may have changed his version of the story, and while his own doping and subsequent lying have caused many to doubt him, my position, for which I have spoken long and loud, is to advocate for deep and systemic change in the sport to eliminate the scourge of dope. Too many lives have been lost, too many promising careers have been cut short and too many fans have been cheated. It isn’t about whether Rider X or Rider Y can be proven by physical evidence or otherwise to have doped. Floyd Landis is simply representative of many in the sport. The sport needs to change its governance and its culture to survive long term. It must get beyond the recurring controversy. The fans have the right to be certain that they are cheering for human athletes rather than rolling pharmaceutical billboards, and clean riders have the right to a fair opportunity to stand on the podium. Clean racing makes for a much more exciting sport, and I encourage the fans to engage in the dialogue surrounding Floyd Landis’ comments and advocate with me here and elsewhere for positive “pure” change.”
Tags: #cycling, #Doping, #Floyd Landis, #PEDs, #Tour de France
Thank you Greg for your courage and honesty. I have always felt there must have been something true in the claims you made when it seemed like the whole biking establishment wanted you to keep quiet. That was reinforced in me when watching the video “The Flying Scotsman”. A lone voice of integrity against a machine.
Thanks again for speaking up.
Well said, Greg.
Greg, you have to help him! Please, for cycling’s sake!
Right on Greg. Sports and cycling fans need to make an honest appraisal of what happened on the US Postal Team. Of course the participants will deny it. They stand to lose too much money otherwise. Every athlete accused of doping denies it initially just like Landis. Is it a coincidence that several members of the Postal Squad including Manual Beltran, Frankie Andreau, Landis and Tyler Hamilton have all tested positive or admitted to doping during their careers? Does anyone really believe that all of these guys were on PEDs independently but the leader of the team wasn’t? I believe a lot of what Floyd Landis is saying and in time, the truth will come out as enablers, managers and teammates get further away from the sport. I just wish Landis had taken a photo of the blood bags in the fridge because the reality is that evidence will be hard to uncover. When you hear Phil Ligget and Paul Sherwin tell you “This is unbelievable!” that’s because it is unbelievable, it’s a fraud and a disgrace. I yearn for the day when Bob Costas assembles former members of this team and they openly discuss what every sensible person knows to be true.
Greg your cycling acheivements inspired me to take up the sport and now your honesty and courage to speak out against doping are arguably just as courageous as any of your wins. How many more whistleblowers do we need before the sport faces up to the realities of both its past and present? “Those that fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it”.
After hundreds of amature races and a year racing in Europe, I quit competitive cycling because of people like Floyd. In my eyes he ruined the sport, or at least stabbed it in the heart. And in his craziness, he hurt you too Greg. Why don’t well all yell together: Floyd is a dirtbag cheating perjurer conartist that severely damaged the sport of competitive cycling?
Wow what a surprise, yet another opportunity to have a dig at Lance. Landis is a drug cheating liar who has defrauded fans, friends and bicycle enthusiasts for years. Attempting to free his past my $&@. Guy is looking to make another quick $$$ from the media.
Well said. Unfortunately it seems that USAC, UCI, and WADA are distancing themselves from it.
Classy response, Greg, particularly in light of Floyd’s attempt to smear you. You are a gentleman and a hero, and the last clean Tour champion. Your courage to speak out against those who cheat will be vindicated.
I agree wholeheartedly! Around 92-93 i started to notice a difference in cycling.At first i couldn’t put my finger on it but, later i noticed it was the speeds increasing and the endurance also.So much that i couldn’t believe that it was from just hard training and tech advances in cycling equipment! I hope that we turn a new page and get our beloved sport back to being as clean and wholesome as it can be.I hate my passion and lifestyle being tainted!!! We all admire you Greg and the thought of you doing any of that has NEVER crossed my mind.Cyclist such as you did it with heart and determination and the never surrender attitude!
Why would we believe Landis now and not before? It’s because most folks are predisposed to believe that everyone in professional cycling is dirty. Perhaps they are. But it would be foolish to accept Landis’s claims as reliable testimony. He has amply demonstrated that he is capable of lying. Sure, he might be clearing his conscience. He might also be extracting revenge or lashing out in bitterness. He might also be coming clean in a way that serves his own interests.
It is unfortunate for someone of Greg’s status to give any credibility to what Landis is saying. Whether Armstrong or anyone else has used performance-enhancing drugs isn’t going to be decided in the media or blogsphere. It will be determined by the system of testing that exists, and by any physical evidence that can be brought forward. If Landis has any such evidence, he should produce it. Otherwise, let’s get on with the cycling.
[...] Here’s a statement by LeMond from his web site: I believe most of Floyd Landis’s statements regarding the systemic corruption [...]
Greg!! What do you believe about what landis said? Maybe you can believe his name is landis—maybe.
People need to be more like Floyd. We need courageous men like Floyd and you, Greg, that are willing to stand against the UCI and the Lance Industrial Complex. We need to put a stand to this and doping in cycling needs to end or we all could never take ourselves seriously again. If we continue to believe the systematic lies that we have been fed by the UCI and Lance then we all deserve to never touch a bike again.
Just my five cents.
Thank you Greg and please help Floyd through this mess
Bravo to Floyd for finally finding the honesty w/i himself. “The truth will set you free.”
Greg, thanks for being a champion in many, many ways. Those of us that remember your exploits will never “forget” how you inspired us. Thank you for standing up for real, clean sport, and standing firm against the corporate sham of Lance, Inc. I remember you had advised Floyd that a lie will eat you up over time, and that his ‘friends’ in cycling are not really friends at all.
Finally, finally he has come to realize this. It has cost him his marriage and much (most?) of his savings. We all should applaud his courage to finally come forward!!
Courageous? Are you kidding me? He lies and steals for 4 years, has some come to Jesus moment, smears everyone who probably gave this guy his career and you call him courageous? That is messed up! There’s still only allegations. And are we to believe that Greggo never touched the stuff? If he can be the only clean guy in cycling, why can’t Lance? Lame.
Hey Greg-
I did audio commentary re: the Landis admission/allegations for FoxSports.com today. You can listen here: http://msn.foxsports.com/video?vid=8ad49e5c-d376-4740-8e76-10981450f22c
Hope all is well with you,
Andrew
What a bunch of nay sayers. I will be suprised if my responce makes it to the web. I think if there was doping in Lance’s past the French Authorities would have found it. The french were much dedicated to the idea that Lance used drugs and would loved to have put his down. How would he have hidden the drug for that many years from a country dedicated to prove otherwise???
A classy response indeed, however, I don’t trust Floyd Landis that much.
He has been lying the past four years already.
Thank you for that Greg. At a time when Landis is being smeared as bitter, in need of psychological help, unreliable witness etc. to have a credible voice such as yours come out in support of him is fantastic – especially given your past history with him. You have my utmost respect.
[...] Most interestingly, Paul Kimmage had this to say about the affair to the Irish radio. Greg Lemond released a statement supporting [...]
Greg (if I may), like Dan says your respons shows great class. Unfortunately, Floyd has made a rod for his own back, not only through his denials of guilt (which most athletes do for a time have getting caught – although not all, see Camenzind and Millar) but though his smearing of you and through the truly grotesque act of taking money from gullible (if well-meaning) fans. I have some sympathy with riders who, whatever they’re alleged to have done in the past, sign with teams that take an active and credible anti-doping stand, like Garmin, Columbia or Sky. Isn’t the way for cycling to progress to have some sort of proper judicial inquiry or investigation, not necessarily looking for criminal punishments for riders but with the possibility of perjury charges if riders lie? Perhaps something like what they had in Canada after the Ben Johnson affair?
Greg I respect your honour and honesty in calling how it is…..again! But I guess I lose even more hope for the credability of pro cycling with yesterdays response from Pat McQuaid, etc. I think its going to take a long time before cycling really becomes the sport its adminstrators keep telling us it is.
Thank you Greg!
The example you’ve been setting for many years goes far behind just the world of cycling. So many communities would need a thousand guys like you…
I’ve been a fan since 1989, when I was in Rennes for the arrival of the 1st time-trial on the TDF, and I have very fond memories of spending all the following July months stuck to my tv, until 1994 (and quite ironically, the arrival of the last stage you rode, in Rennes again, was right at my doorstep… ). I admired you on a bike, and I’ve been admiring you even more since, for standing up for what was right.
Things should have exploded a long time ago (in 1998…), to start back in a new clean state, but instead, we’ve had this slow erosion of credibility about all cyclists. I’m not so optimistic that professional cycling could ever be saved, but at least, and thanks to you, and to you only, I can look back at it as the most beautiful sport ever.
You’re surely the last clean winner of the Tour. Let’s just hope someone else can come after you
.
Well said Greg. In the Military we live by a code. Honesty and courage willing to face your fears. Floyd should have come clean two years ago and saved himself and his family from the lies and shame that destroyed not only himself but the ones around him. Floyd we welcome your courage use this courage to help change the sport for good, and not bring it down.
Greg, as always you have taken the “high-road” with you comments. This only proves you love and respect for the sport. I saw you over a year ago at the Major Taylor Memorial Statue cermony. You spoke about how Major Taylor was all alone in his effort to win, and the difficulities of being “alone” in the sport of cycling. Just like you were alone with you comments about doping…..time proves true courage, honesty, and respect.
Well, sorry to be the only one against these allagations: There is no proof of Armstrong doping. That is a fact, and he is innocent until otherwise proofed.
Greg, You have always argued your case strongly. I remember you said that other cases make it into court on less evidence. Landis would get destroyed as a witness. He is a pathological liar and thief. I am not defending Armstrong. I think you have made great points in the past. One question… if you feel so strongly about getting to the truth, why did you settle with Trek? Why not force Armstrong’s ex, and all the others, to testify under oath. You are the only one who had the chance to put them in a position of perjury. Always wanted to ask.
Phil
I think you’re one of the few people who doesn’t see that Landis is a pathological liar and has come completely unhinged.
Yeah, I’m one of the suckers that chose not to take that step when I was given a shot at a pro-European team. I have to say, I still kind of regret it. The whole thing. Not having been able to have the experience because I did not want to take drugs, not being able to perform at the required level because of it, that fct that this is just what [commercial] sport is, the fact that I was alarmed at just how normal and open this whole doping thing was, and yes, the fact that I didn’t do it. Not because I wish I had taken drugs, not because I think I would have over-taken the team captain someday, but just for the experience, even if for just one season. That is really the saddest thing about this culture: people who are not willing to do that just cannot partake.
Greg,
Full disclosure up front. I became a cycling geek becaus of L.A., not just his achievements, but as much for the cancer angle. My dad had recently been diagnoesed and recovered when Lance won his first tour. I drank the Kool Aid, and was pissed when you took shots at him. That being said, I still always respected you, and didnt feel you got a fair shake when you would speak out. I agreed with your no doping message, but thought your anger/focus on Lance alone was misplaced and damaged your ability to have your message taken seriously. As far as Floyd goes, he may well be telling the truth, but I am more pissed at him now than ever. I bought in hook line and sinker that he had been set up, followed the blogs, bought the book, and now, four years later, he admits he lied. Im not upset that he lied, to not understand the personal and financial pressure he was under would be naive. But I am upset that he took so long to tell the truth. The problem is, that now, the one person who can posibly blow the smoke away and paint a clear picture, if he is telling the truth, has absolutely no public credibility left, and no means with which to prove his allegatons. Even so, that isnt the biggest reason that I am upset with him. In his statements, he claimed that several prominent leaders/owners aided and encouraged this practice. I believe, perhaps wrongly, that while doping can make a good cyclist great, it cant make a mediocre cyclist great. The kids who joined these teams had to have natural talent to begin with, and by keeping his mouth shut for so long, Floyd has allowed numerous other young men to be subjected to the same pressure that caused him to dope. There are four years of damage, not only to the young men who have allegedly been subjected to this pressure, but in the trickle down effect, countless others who have been taught that doping is the ony way to succeed. Change in a group mindset takes time, and four years are gone, so the age of the individuals who havent been given the dope to win gospel is logically lower than ever. Mostly though, I feel betrayed. I love this sport, and I want my idols to have raced clean, but I dont let hope cloud my thinking. If they did cheat, why didnt he say it then. Its no mystery, and it has been written about extensively, what your refussal to let pressure affect your beliefs and your desire to speak for what you believe is right has cost you. Im trying not to judge Floyd, and like other posters, commend you for your open heart in forgiving someone whose actions against you I would only describe as viscious, but I am having a hard time getting over my anger at Floyd. The timing sucks, the intent is suspect, his post ban career hurts his credibility, and all in all, all I can think is why now? I WANT to know the truth, and if my first real cycling hero cheated, then he cheated. I also find it interesting that he only singled out north american cyclists.. he didnt know any other nationalaties that cheated, despite racing in Europe on international teams? Why didnt he discuss the suppliers, the doctors, the technicians who made it possible? Why just the cyclists who cheated? Wouldnt that be more productive as opposed to just identifying the end users? I used to be a prosecutor, and we learned quickly that cases against end users (possession of drugs, low level dealing, and the financial crimes related to drugs) did little to solve the real problem. If he doesnt name the institutional /heirarchical people and structures that allow doping to continue, this whole thing just comes across as sour grapes. This is my bigges problem. If Floyd is telling the truth, the way (and time) he chose to do so leaves me with the fear that now all he has done is destroy any real chance of being taken seriously. I know this is long, and probably comes off as a rant, but honestly, I have been sick to my stomach since yesterday morning, and have had no idea how to express it. If anyone reads this whole thing, thanks. And Greg, thanks. I havent always appreciated you, in fact, there were times I resented you, but I still respect you, perhaps now more than ever. So thanks for speaking your mind, thanks for being true to yourself, and in general, thanks for being you.
Landis doesn’t have the greatest credibility on the planet. He lied for 4 years about his own doping when he won the tour. He lied under oath. He solicited contributions from his fans to defend his prevarication. With nothing better to do, since his team is competing in the Tour of California, he appears to have decided to take the entire Radio Shack team down with him. Just because Landis claims something doesn’t make it true.
Greg, is there any way you would run for UCI president? It is obvious that cycling is corrupt. Thanks for trying to keep cycling clean over the years, you are one of the select few. Bike Pure!
Well said Greg. Please keep up the fight. Drugs and this culture of tolerance are killing the sport.
Landis’ timing is unfortunate because he now has no credibility. I wish he had come clean much sooner when he still had some credibility. At this point and time this will probably get swept under the carpet.
Thanks Greg for your support of Floyd. He’s made his mistakes and is not free from contempt by some people. However, he is finally taking a stand and fighting the good fight. We should all applaud him, and you, for having the courage to speak out. Thank You!
Well spoken Greg. Lance Armstrong is just like Tiger Woods. It seems that in the minds of many fans, they can do no wrong and no one wants to believe that they have a dark side. Regardless about how we feel about Landis, yes he has credibility issues but I believe there is truth to at least some of what he has said. ANYONE who has a few normal brain cells still functioning realizes that doping has been and still is an issue in the sport of cycling. So many of the people who are fringe fans who don’t understand the culture and history of cycling (aka people that only know Lance Armstrong) are sure to be upset and suspect of Landis and in the same way Greg. Tiger Woods is an icon to many who are to blind to see he may not be perfect, the amount of people that blindly follow Armstrong are the same way. Yes people, it is entirely realistic that seeming “good” people can have a dark side yet people find it so unrealistic when that side rears it’s ugly head. I love cycling, I hope that someway, someday the sport finds resolve with all of this because while many are in denial, the truth is out there somewhere.
Hi Greg,
I am from Colombia and we do love cycling too. I really think you are giving a huge example for everybody in the cycling community. I do love the way that you explain how this cyclist are doping gathering numbers and analyzing the performance. Cycling is my favorite sport and I hope to see a clean Tour someday.
I am a big fan of yours and your way of racing.
Thank you for showing honesty in a very dishonest cycling culture
“The fans have the right to be certain they are that cheering for human athletes rather than rolling pharmaceutical billboards.”
This is all that needs to be said. Thank you.
Thurs May 20th. A great day for cycling, a great day for sport. Thank you for helping to clean up the sport Greg!
Time for you to fess up too, Greg.
Sad if we have to look up to Floyd Landis. Because Landis has admitted doping doesn’t make him a hero. Floyd Landis is worse than other doping cyclists. He has made threats, blackmailed, lied, extorted, and made a profit from his lying. Let’s forget about Landis and move on to the real issues.
Well said, Greg. I wish there was some way cycling fans could express their support for clean cycling. I support Garmin, but it’s difficult when they give non-denial denials when asked about this kind of thing.
Yes, something is rotten in cycling and lot of it is due to LA’s “fraud”. Guys like Ullrich who had natural talent wouldn’t have been pushed into dubious actions if it hadn’t been for him. Anyway, time for anyone who can put an end to this to get as much support as possible and for all his faults Landis might be the one who made that possible.
Valid words from a valid champion.
This whole episode needs to be investigated fully and justly.
It’s good to have some hope what with organizations such as BikePure.org who seem to be doing something positive to help the riders who are against doping. There is light at the end of the tunnel.
I appreciate your drive to put cycling back on the map as the masterpiece that it should be. Even though I wanted Laurent Fignon to win the tour in that marvelous competition.
Buffalo Bob from BC
Greg –
I don’t believe Armstrong for a second. He has far too much ‘trouble’ following him. It baffles me how he gets away with it. Still, when you compare your speed (average TdF) to his one is left with little doubt that you used something in your career. I think what would show REAL courage is to see you come out. What benefit would it offer? None to you. But I believe you are in a position to change the world if YOU are brave enough.
Greg
I am overwhelmed by your wisdom. After all you have been through with Landis. As for myself, I was so naive that I kept a place somewhere where I believed Landis. I can’t help being enraged by the denial, the lies. I feel like cycling is reeling from a punch in the gut.
I think, Who are the leaders in a time like this? If the sport of cycling was ever in need of a “Patron” it is now, and that person has got to be you Greg.
I’m with you all the way.
Hammerdog Callahan
Chico
Kings Beach
Sacramento CA
It’s time to take this matter to prosecutors in the jurisdictions where the doping was alleged to have occurred, and let them determine if there’s enough evidence to support a prosecution against the people who doped for fraud and theft, or if these incidents occurred in a variety of jurisdictions, to an appropriate Federal prosecutor. They have the power to get people before grand juries, to subpoena evidence, and so on, and to examine people under oath. If the charges Landis made are true, then the people who doped and won races because of it, made lots of money as a result of their criminal actions. Criminals *can* tell the truth, and I’ve seen them do so, for purposes of revenge. It’s the way a lot of crimes are successfully prosecuted, from the tips of informants who have less than noble motives for talking to the police, but nevertheless tell the truth. Floyd’s just “ratting out his buddies”. Sure, he’s a criminal, by his own admission, but he lists names and dates and dosages and PEDs, sufficient to get Probable Cause Affidavits issued against other racers. It’s time for a criminal prosecution, to either convict and jail the people who perpetrate these frauds, or to exonerate them and clear their names.
I agree with Greg we should talk about the positive sides of a clean sport. However Landis had a platform to speak before and abused it, I do not think the world of cycling should give him another. Ive raced in California with him earlier in the year and had given respects, I feel diff now.
True words from a winner. Like some writers on your weblog; I agree that you can change the hypocrisy in the cycling sport. Not you alone, i think you need some big “”critical”" cycling-names besides yourself who are willing to talk about their past! Admit the use of doping and we all can leave the past behind!
2011 must be the year that we all can watch cycling in the most pure way! Right now it seems that only “”the losers”" are caught. Losers/stupids who no one wants to listen too are cyclists who didn’t use the dope in a most secret way…here in holland the first reaction to the Landis news was from retired dutch cyclist Max (van Heeswijk) : “”I knew this, saw bags of blood”"etc
Un$#&believable…! In 1980 11 years old, I saw Joop Zoetemelk win de Tour. We all know that Joop also used….and there are many more (past/present names to find.
Dear Greg I respect you as a winner, just as Joop and others. I think you have to organise a meeting, honest statements from big ridersnames….Admit (yeah i know all hell will break loose) and we can start over again…make the sport more pure. Start a sport council with old retired cyclist, be honest and HELP the sport and the organisors to make the cycling sport more honest!
I like your critics (towards Armstrong and others) the last few years about doping and former colleagues. BUT sometimes somebody must do something more, not only hypocrite talk beside the “”Rue du Silence”"
Marijn (holland)
Landis avoue enfin ! Bonne nouvelle, Armstrong, Bruynel…cette bande de tricheur est de plus en plus discridité. On ne les croit plus depuis longtemps
Long gone are the halcyon days of cycling,
The efforts of the individual, amounted to more than the TEAM mentality that exists now, and isn’t that the REAL problem?
The team expects you to dope? the team radio stifles the attack?
The heroic images of Lemond and Hinault locked in combat, are distant reminders of what could be!
Greg do not get involved with Floyd. He is bad news. Run from him and do not get fooled again. He tarnishes everything he touches.
The issue is not doping by postal dave z etc. It will get really ugly.
Over his life, Greg LeMond has faced many mountains in both his personal and professional life. He has dealt with this adversity with integrity, strength, and perseverance. In 1991 Greg came to a cross road in his career similar to what many young cyclists are confronted with today: either start taking performance enhancing drugs like the rest of the peloton or you will be unable to compete in the sport you love and committed your life. Greg did not choose the easy route. Rather he chose to climb a mountain so big that he did not know if he would ever be able to make it to the top and knew he could not make it by himself – he chose to try to save the sport he loved. Over the last ten years, Greg has been vilified by powerful people in his sport but he has not cracked. The attacks on his image in the press, the intentional destruction of his bike business by Trek, and the blackmail attempt by Landis’s lawyer threatening to disclose his childhood sexual abuse.
As Greg stated: “It isn’t about whether Rider X or Rider Y can be proven by physical evidence or otherwise to have doped. Floyd Landis is simply representative of many in the sport.” Riders who have won the Tour de France over the past 15 years while doping are great cyclists and they beat their closest competitors who also were doping. It is just a shame that they have had to risk serious side effects of these drugs and other great riders who have chosen not to dope have been denied the ability to compete with the best in their sport.
For the sake of the sport, I hope Greg makes the summit of this mountain he has chosen to climb. The name LeMond stands for integrity, strength, and perseverance. I hope to one day be able to watch a clean Tour de France, hop on a new LeMond brand bike, and fall back in love with the sport.
Floyd Landis took banned substances and lied. That is wrong, legally and morally and none of my comments should be seen as contrary to that. That said, lets look at this for what it is worth. Athletes have an incredible incentive to lie to both preserve any chance of a future career and to hopefully retain sponsors. I cannot think of any currently competing cyclist ever who came forward and said ‘I am cheating’ unless he was already linked to some questionable lab or doctor. Floyd Landis is not a hero for doping but lets use this as an opportunity to shine the light on the pervasiveness of cheating in cycling and corruption within cycling governance. Use what Floyd has said to show that the ‘Post Greg LeMond Era’ should be treated with the same skepticism as the Barry Bonds, Mark McGuire, Sammy Sosa and Jose Canseco baseball era. Also, despite Floyd’s admission of guilt, he was in nothing but a show trial where he was railroaded with evidence that had been so badly mishandled it never would have stood up to a real US courtroom standard of jurisprudence. He said he took HGH for the 2006 Tour and never touched any testosterone. There are people who make a lot of money off this sport and sometimes they are the unseen ones who take payoffs to cover test results, get money from products connected to the sport or a famous name as well as those who have the centerfuges for the blood transfusions. If it ever can been proven that a UCI official took money to cover up a certain famous rider’s tests, it would loosen the stranglehold that organization has on the sport.
The problem with Floyd Landis is that it is hard to tell what to believe. He was caught, denied it and recently admitted using drugs and now wants to blame others. The sport does need to do more to clean up it’s act. So far Lance, as well as others on Landis’ list, has not failed any test and I have to give him the benefit of the doubt. Innocent until proven guilty.
I’m somewhat amazed that anyone still believes that US Postal wasn’t doping. The analogies between baseball’s steroid and hgh scandals are almost eery. First there is the absurd denials in the face of increasing evidence, then there’s the superstars bringing money to the sport as a direct result of the massive success the dope enabled, think Barry Bonds home run record, Armstrong string of Tour de France victories. Then there’s the fact the playing field was in fact level, only it was level because all the top guys were doping. It defies belief that Armstrong could have been not doping when he was convincingly beating all his competition, every single one of whom has now been caught doping, not to mention every member of US Postal hired away by other teams as their new captains, Heras, etc. I realize that it’s fun having fantasies about the people we want to admire, but when the evidence is this glaring, it’s probably time to let the fantasies go. And let’s not forget the US Postal team doctor who was let go because he refused to implement a doping policy.
I do believe there was a level playing field during the last 10+ years, but that field was level because all the top guys were doping, period. Just like in baseball. And the money Lance brought into cycling was exactly the same type of thing as the money that Bonds brought to baseball. Strong incentive to at least not look too hard.
I feel really bad for the cyclists in the pro ranks who don’t want to do this stuff, but are forced to by the top guys raising the bar too high.
Greg, keep up the good fight, even though Landis isn’t the best witness, neither was Jose Canseco, but someone had to come out in public. I read his emails that were published and they sure sounded honest to me, and fit exactly with how I would have imagined this nonsense actually went down.
I love pro cycling but I hate this doping, and I hate the hypocracy of guys like Armstrong and all the other top riders.
I really got deep respect for everyone obtaining much by hard work (and maybe some talent, but that – to me – is similar to luck)
I know that much more concerning the music-sceene, but it is nearly the same in sports and many other fields.
But it is frightening and making me thick how much credit people may gain, when having success -
like Armstrong – and how little believe there is in others, who have not.
Shouldn´t it be just the other way round?
Who is naiv enough to believe in 7 honorable victories?
It is much too easy to repeat the thought, that everything is due to envy
again and again.
Mr. Armstrong is simply feeling secure in a cirlce of influential guys, who do everything to make the fans beleiving in myths.
One day that wall of stubbornness will break.
Such a pitty! Cause “Livestrong” may also fade that day.
Mr. Armstrong should be aware of the responsibility – for his benefit-organization as well, as for the sport.
I am not a patriot, but I agree to the thesis: Talents like Jan Ulrich had to losse because Armstrong was the better doper – not the better sportsman,
and besides… Armstrong to me never was a teamplayer but was carried
from one title to the other by really great collegues.
The tenth was epo.
The Tour de France became a boaring thing between 1999 and 2005.
But I do not regret watching, because there where so many riders it was fun wathing (and who seemed to have fun themselves… in contrast to Mr. A)
Those of you saying Floyd is not courageous for finally telling the truth? People, understand that professional cycling is a closed loop, and if you speak out, you don’t work, ever again. If you are a student of the sport, this should be obvious. Frankie Andreu testified under oath about Lance…the next day he is fired as DS of Toyota-United. Coincidence?? Simeoni testified against Dr. Ferrari, then is banned from Giro selection even though he is wearing the tri-colore as national champion!! Jorg Jaksche told the truth — and now he is “retired” b/c NOBODY will hire him.
So yes, it would have been wonderful if Floyd “come clean” in 2006, but he also would not have been able to find work again. Like most cyclists, this is a guy w/o a college degree, and no other skillset for which he could garner high wages. Only in cycling could he capture an annual paycheck of hi-six or low seven figures…
And now, finally, he’s realized he was holding out and protecting other people for NOTHING. Read the emails. He asked Bruyneel to hire him into RadioShack. Bruyneel refused. So now Floyd has pulled the pin on the grenade. Courageous and noble? Or just a man who realizes he has nothing left to lose?? Who cares. Either way, he is finally being honest. Those of us who care about this sport (and not just the psuedo-hero worship cult of Lance Armstrong) should be thankful that Floyd has made this decision.
So, NOW you believe Landis. Did you believe Landis in 2006?
Thank you Greg.
I think some of the people issuing negative comments on your website, specifically about Floyd’s character and honesty, are misguided. Don’t focus on Landis. Focus on explaining to me why multiple people (Landis, Andreu, K. Armstrong, Emma O’Reilly, Stephen Swart…), with nothing to gain, are all saying the same thing. In fact, most of the people listed above have lost significantly. What about all the previous Postal teammates that went on to test postitive? Please channel your energies into searching for the truth about the most herculean sports lie(s) EVER. Drew
Having followed your comments in the media for some time now i have come to the conclusion that you yourself have something to hide regarding your cycling achievements. In my experience the people that openly and continually attack others for something (with no evidence), are trying to somehow atone for their own failing in the same area.
If you trace the members of the USPS cycling team, if you follow their careers, how many have either admitted to or been caught for doping? Can anyone provide a number? Can someone provide a list of Lance’s teammates that have eventually been involved in some kind of drug scandal?
And yet, Lance has seen nothing? In all those years, he’s seen nothing?? And the testers are a bunch of “vampires” out to get him? And his teammates and service staff are all “bitter” and “hate” him??
Give me a break. Floyd must have been under incredible pressure to keep his silence. And at the same time, he was under incredible pressure about his career and financial situation.
Lets get real here. Floyd is not to blame. Bruyneel and Armstrong are.
And, apparently, their make-believe world (in which they are heros) is about to change… Kristen Armstrong is now cooperating with feds. Let her be reminded that pedalling drugs is a felony.
Let’s bring down these kingpins. Let’s clean up the sport.
I wouldn’t say BigTex and The Belgian are exactly kingpins, more like mid-level mob bosses. Of course they need to be taken down if proof can be found of the allegations but there are medical folks who make this stuff possible. BigTex and The Belgian didn’t think up these procedures and test these doping products all by themselves, they’re not smart enough or trained enough. Let’s not scapegoat them as the entire problem as they’re just the most visible and successful of the cheaters, let’s get at the medical folks who discover and make available all these ways of cheating, along with the other directors of teams and rid the sport of ALL of them!
Thank you Greg Lemond for this contribution. You are a truely great champion and your farewell to cyclism was obviously “pure”; I think you did refuse to take new products other cyclists took and that therefore you wouldn’t follow them anymore in 1991. I think something of the kind happened to Miguel Indurain in 1996. I do think that you are right and remember your analysis of Contadors climbing to Verbier last year. Cycling is fantastic and I’m a freetime biker. I love the sport but I’m more and more disappointed by professional cycling and don’t watch it any more. Thank you for appealing to the sport’s consciousness. Too many lifes have been ruined, too many fans (included my sons) have been cheated.
(Wim De Vos from Brussels, Belgium)
1) There is not a chance anyone is going to read this far…
2) So long as there is competition, there will be ‘fair’ and ‘unfair’ competition. As the rewards climb ever higher, so to will the temptation/need to ‘win’, and consequently the temptation/need to dope.
3) Sport in general has never been, and never will be, fair. If sport was fair, then all would be rewarded according to their efforts.
The problem, then, is that dopers force the already/otherwise competitive to do something to their bodies which is unnatural, and against their desires (I almost wrote ‘will’).
So here’s the hook. Take the money and glory out of the sport, and the scourge of drugs will largely if not completely disappear.
So long as there are million dollar salaries and ‘conjugal’ rewards for successful athletes, there will be a *very* strong motivation for the ‘win at all costs’ mentality. And so long as some cheat, others will be forced to do the same.
So, yeah, I’m happy that Landis came out of the closet, and while his finger-pointing makes him look like a douche (to some), his intentions *may* be good. Good intentions or not, the finger-pointing does not harm cycling to a great extent, but to the extent that it does, SPONSORS – the cash cows – leave the sport… and as they leave, so too will much of the motivation and means for doping.
In the end, we look at doping like it is a ‘bad apple’ problem, but the problem is systemic… and it is a direct outcome of the reward system.
Greg, my deepest concerns are for young, up and coming riders trapped in a “go along to get along” mentality. If young cyclists are obligated to dope in order to succeed and get a paycheck, we are conspiring to sacrifice their integrity and health in order to support the winning efforts for their team management and corporate sponsors. If that is the face of pro cycling, I would never encourage a young person to get involved in bike racing beyond local, purely amateur races.
If we look back at the cyclists killed when EPO was first introduced, or the later, health-sacrificed lives of those East German athletes who were doped by their government, I think this is a scenario that I for one as a cyclist don’t want to have anything to do with.
Many thanks for your efforts to clean up our sport and for your lifelong commitment to clean cycling,
Khal Spencer
League Cycling Instructor
County Transportation Board Chair
Several writers have made the obvious point. If none are doping, its a level playing field. Once the dope cat is out of the bag and everyone is doping, its also a level playing field. Ergo, stop doping. It just means the stages will take a little longer to finish. Great. Time for more commercials…
The truth is the culture of cycling will never change unless Lance comes clean. The iconic status, personal wealth and power that is gleaned through professional cycling reinforces doping. As is the public’s insatiable appetite to subscribe or worship a modern day sports hero.
Think about what would happen if Lance came clean. This is why it will never happen. The hand will need to be forced. Does our society want to see someone of such stature fall? The answer is an unequivocal “no”. Why? Because, the modern day athlete is linked to our identity as an individual and our sense of self worth.
Those that have doped are cornered as their personal integrity has been compromised. As Greg has stated secrets are destructive and affect one’s core. Floyd’s actions are at the simplest level despicable. At least he is enduring the consequences of his actions. However, we do have to thank him for this. May it effect positive change and reveal those that continue to deceive.
Greg, your efforts are appreciated as you continue to be a strong voice.
Truly well said, Greg. I really like how you used the “Rider X or Rider Y” statement, and the ‘rolling pharmaceutical billboards’ crack was truly funny!
I can remember hearing about Rider L’s use of Doctor Drug, and knowing at that instant that he was a fake. Then, when Floyd was stripped of his title, it became clear that the only American to win the Tour de France was you, Greg. Hopefully others will be brave enough to stop lying and cheating, and step into the light from their dark pasts. And maybe some people will even apologize to you.
You are absolutely correct about the sport being more exciting without drugs. Now we just gotta kill the radios!
I am really pleased with your new interactive website, and also to see that you are considering reviving your bicycle line. Having fans’ input on that is a bold and innovative thing to do, once again. Bravo to you sir, never stop!
Chris P.
well written greg.
the problem is….it’s not what you know. it’s what you can prove.
the high road is to provide proof of accusations when they are made. otherwise, it’s the soap opera of sport that keeps going and going and going……
“Of the 23 different riders that rode for postal 99-05 in the tour 14 have been banned for strongly linked to, or admitted doping.”
Twitter: #landisgate
Death toll from cycling:
http://observer.guardian.co.uk/osm/story/0,,1161003,00.html
I can understand how Lance Armstrong has been moulded into a situation where his integrity is in question. He now finds himself in a situation where he gives strength to people who’s fight is cancer. I really want to believe his recent comeback is clean and he wants to win the Tour De France that way (all in all a very difficult situation). In my heart I strongly disagree with artificial means of competitive advantage and the consequential proliferation through all levels of what is a fantastic invention.
I have a lot of respect for Greg LeMond’s words and his clear and logical climb to winning the Tour De France. It’s great to see a winner set a good example for new blood.
Hi.
Thanks Greg Lemond. I was racing in my youth, in the eighties, then moved over to triathlon, and now just biking for fun, which means very much for me. I remember reading your book on a swedish library, which gave a lot of inspiration. I have been looking on the big races on Eurosport since the early ninties, and the Armstrong era seems to getting stranger and stranger as time move on. How could he become so good after his cancer, how could he win seven tours when most of his top competitors now has come out as dopers? I’ve been thinking a lot through the years, sometimes I been thinking of you as someone the media and the industry wanted me to think: as a jelous guy. But the last couple of days changed it all, for me it was a chock to read Floyd Landis statement, his emails, not that he was doped, which I strongly believed since 2006, but that he finally told the truth. The pressure on him must have been enormous, the book he has written, the lies that he has fed the media with through the last four years. As someone said, finally he was in a position with nothing less to loose, he was out in the cold, and he finally, finally took the decision to say the TRUTH. He probably will loose a lot more than he wins on that decision, but it was the right thing to do. I can understand him, I can understand that he is a product of the last ten years culture of biking, almost no one admits doping when they get caught. He tried to back up his former mates, his former teams as long as he could, even wrote a book, full of lies, of course. Landis might fall even deeper, but I think he now feels a lot better inside and will in the future. If the sport of pro biking wants to continue and have a future everything during the last ten, fifteen years must come up in the light. Landis might be the person that makes this possible, or the sport will eventually die. Biking is such a wonderful sport, a team sport and also a sport where you race by yourself, good for the health and good for improving social skills and a good way to explore the world. But as it looks today, I don’t want my son to be in this sport, to become professional bikers. I love cycling, but I don’t love the sport as it is today. I mean to see Basso last day win a great victory in the lovely mountains of Italy with all the crowd and the cheering, which I did, gave you a bitter taste in your mouth. It’s not the same anymore. I’m pretty sure that doping is a culture in the sport which is bigger than most of us viewers might believe. But one thing I’m sure of, Armstrong will never come out from the closet, and I doubt that there ever will be any real medical proof against him, unfortunately. Even if I know you can´t judge a guy without real proof I can’t help questioning him. And the statement of Landis made this worse, a lot worse. Thanks Greg for inspiring me to start racing in my youth. Take care.
Hey Greg, why should we believe YOU rode clean? The testing was not as strict in the 80′s and early 90′s as it is now. Who exactly are you to point fingers?
Over his life, Greg LeMond has faced many mountains in both his personal and professional life. He has dealt with this adversity with integrity, strength, and perseverance. In 1991 Greg came to a cross road in his career similar to what many young cyclists are confronted with today: either CONTINUE taking performance enhancing drugs like the rest of the peloton or you will be unable to compete in the sport you love and committed your life. Greg did not choose the easy route…
what is this propaganda?
Greg, we know you did everything it took to win. Stop being false like landis and pretending you were the last clean winner of a freaking tour.
It just wasn’t banned then, and you quit because people were dying from the junk.
Like all wars, (except maybe against nazis) wars against drugs are futile.
let the games go on.
P.S. Lance leaves the doubters’ and haters’ comments on his site.
I have no idea whether Lance Armstrong or anyone else (who has never failed a drug test) has used performance-enhancing drugs. I do know that the entire sport is under a cloud. However, I also don’t know when the sport has ever been clean, which is sad, because it is such a magnificent test of skill and, in the case of the grand tours, stamina and courage.
Floyd Landis simply can’t be trusted. He is one of the more notorious liars in the history of cycling (or any sport for that matter) and his latest “revelations” say more about him than about anyone else. At this point, Armstrong has won his seven Tours and passed the necessary testing. Nothing that Floyd Landis says can (or should) change that. I’ve never been an Armstrong fan, but unless evidence with more credibility than the word of the likes of Landis surfaces, it makes no sense to attack Armstrong for what he may have done. Because he may not have done it.
“Think about what would happen if Lance came clean.”
Cycling is dirty.
Armstrong won 7 Tours.
Ergo…Armstrong is dirty.
I feel a little weird defending someone I don’t care for at all, but without evidence it is irresponsible (and pointless) to claim certain knowledge of something you can’t possibly know.
“the problem is….it’s not what you know. it’s what you can prove.”
Don’t you mean “it’s not what you THINK you know. it’s what you can prove.” And isn’t that the way it should be?
How do you know anything about Armstrong’s use or non-use of illegal performance enhancers?
Cycling is dirty.
Greg LeMond won 3 Tours.
Ergo…nothing.
I don’t know any more about Greg’s actions than I do about those of Armstrong. I’ve always respected Greg LeMond, but the truth is I have no way of knowing that he or any other cyclist never took performance enhancing drugs. Since I don’t know him personally, all I can do is take his word for it. I’m not sure that anything positive will ever be accomplished by constantly questioning the integrity of people unless there is a factual basis including incontrovertible evidence to back up the accusations. Landis is no help whatever. After what Landis has done the last few years, he should be banned from cycling forever.
“How could he become so good after his cancer, how could he win seven tours when most of his top competitors now has come out as dopers?”
This is absolutely NOT meant as an accusation or criticism of Greg LeMond, but one could say the same thing about him. How could he come back after being shot and win two more tours? How could he win three tours when so many in the sport were cheating? The truth is (or rather may be) that maybe both Armstrong and Greg won because they were simply better than other riders. Last year Armstrong finished third in the Tour at the age of 38. That’s quite an accomplishment. If you watched the race, it seemed clear to me that he couldn’t match Contador physically, but he was a much smarter rider. That wasn’t enough to win, but it got him on the podium. If he cheated last year, he must have an absolutely perfect method — one that can’t be discovered. Otherwise, he was risking his seven Tours and his lifetime reputation just to get on the podium. That hardly seems worth the risk. The rest of Armstrong’s life is going to be financed by the fame he got winning seven Tours. To risk that now would be insane.
I support Greg’s efforts to clean up cycling, but I don’t think individual criticism and accusations, especially directed at Armstrong, are going to be productive. One doesn’t have to read much on the subject before encountering the speculation that Greg’s accusations are nothing more than jealousy. After all, he only (ONLY?) won three Tours, while Lance racked up seven.
I hate to say this, but I wouldn’t bet a dime on any pro cyclist in my lifetime (62 years) being clean. When Basso topped out on Monte Zoncalon in the 2010 Giro, I didn’t think what a great performance. Nope. I thought, “I wonder if he’s clean this time?” After Basso was suspended for 2 years for doping, why should anyone ever trust him again? People cheat. And some cheaters who get caught cheat again. It’s crazy, but true.
I applaud Greg’s efforts to clean up cycling. However, if his accusations or comments sound personal, then many will dismiss his words and he will lose both influence and credibility. And that would be a shame.
While I never blessed to have possessed the physical gifts to emulate Greg’s riding, I can certainly learn from his extraordinarily generous response to Landis and try to emulate his behavior in my own personal life. I know had I been Greg, my immediate reaction to Landis’ confession would have been one of vindication and satisfaction for the come-uppence to Landis befitting his betrayal in exposing Greg’s confidences as viciously as Landis did. Greg is a better man, and a champion off the bike, and this only proves it. FYI, I met Greg at the NYC Bloomingdales where he was doing an appearance for whatever reason. I think it was about 1994. Bloomingdales, in its infinite stupidity, failed to plug the event outside of the fashion section of the Times. Hence, the cycling community was unaware that Greg would be on the 4th Floor in the Mens’ Active Wear Section!! I went with my friend and Greg was there, alone, a bit bemused by the scene, but when we approached with our cherished covers from 1989 Velonews with Greg in Yellow and the winner, he lit up and engaged with us like the true champ he is. My autographed version of that cover still sits on my wall. Greg is, and will always be, hands down, the single greatest cyclist and sportsman this country has ever produced. He went it alone in Europe way back when. He changed the game forever by embracing technology. He was an innovator and a winner on and off the bike. He is still leading the way and setting an example which we call can learn from. Bravo!
It’s amazing to read comments like the one by racephan, saying doping wasn’t banned in the 80′s or 90′s. That shows great ignorance about the history of cycling… How come some riders tested positive back then and faced suspension?
Why believe that LeMond was clean? Because there’s no reason to doubt, not one piece of information, not one suspicious fact, hinting that he ever did.
Dr De Mondenard who studied the history of doping on the Tour de France for the past 50 years or so, asserted: “I have set up more than 4000 dossiers about professional participating in The Tour De France since 1947. All of them connected in some way to doping. There is only one person I have found nothing. It’s Greg LeMond”.
No smoke without fire…
First of all, I am a bit surprised over the blindness being reflected in some of these posts. All right, I agree that Floyd Landis has a problem with his credibility. But I really don’t see any reason why Landis should falsely be accusing Lance this time.
Remember, Lance was one of very few people who officially defended Floyd after his positive test back in 2006. Did anyone ask the question WHY Lance decided to risk his own name to defend Floyd? Did it cross your mind that Lance from a tactical point of view figured it was best to stay on the same side as Floyd, to avoid a conflict with someone who knew about the darker side …Smoke anyone?
When you dig into this, there are so many individual points that are suspicious. You really have to be pretty blind not to see it.
We have doctors that have no reason to lie, who claim that they saw traces of synthetic EPO in his 1999 blood samples. Lance said no to have his samples re-tested. I can smell smoke..
Landis has just claimed UCI was bribed by Lance and Bruyneel to cover up a positive test….And by a coincidence UCI (Pat McQuaid ) can confirm they received a “donation” of $100.000 back at the time period…It sure smokes again.
His cooperation with Michele Ferrari….The smoke is dense…
However, I would say my biggest worries are his inhuman performance. He did Alpe D’Huez in 37 minutes and 36 seconds. Only beaten this very day by Marco Pantani who was doped, and who had a hematocrit level of 60 percent!!! Floyd is number 7 on the list with a time he set in 2006 with his body full of EPO.
So we have a bunch of the worlds biggest cycling talents who are doped beyond any human capacity. (And lets face it, these drugs do MAJOR impact on your performance – some say about a 30% gain)
Lance comes from behind, and blows them one by one – year after year. For me this is the point where the smoke turns into open flame. If things are too good to be true – they most likely are.
Chris, that’s my question and it is entirely circumstantial evidence (if it is evidence at all). If many of the top riders are cheating and it provides such an advantage, how do you beat them unless you are cheating too?
Frankly, we need to stop slamming individual riders and concentrate on the professional system that feeds money, fame, glory, and pressure into riders heads to encourage them to dope. Today’s NY Times has a story on microdoping and the high level scientific R and D efforts going into beating the testing system. You think individual riders are driving this? This is a system problem, not an individual problem. How about a system that consistently disqualifies entire teams if anyone on the team is caught with their syringes in the cookie jar?
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/26/sports/cycling/26micro.html
and this one.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/26/sports/cycling/26cycling.html
Hi
One more thing: Lance Armstrong has fantastic genes and is smart and well organized, he has courage, the will to train, a winner with a winning head and would, of course, have been one of the best in a clean sport, I think, maybe even could have won a couple of tours. In my opinion not the nicest guy, though, but no one is perfect. A real drama of sport needs people like Lance, I think. I doubt that he has been doped the last couple of wins, he had first of all a great, great team behind him – which was built up during the early success where he collected a lot of power – focused on the tour only and had to much to loose to dope, but don’t forget: correct done epo-doping combined with other hormones is useful for ten years ahead. The training capacity and the amount of training a doped biker can assimilate during a period of advanced doping is one of the answer of this. Two years banned from races when you get caught is a joke, seen in this perspective. One more thing: the Swedish biker Axelsson got caught about ten years ago, a lot of stuff were written about this in the swedish papers, often without mercy. I’m a nice person, I mean I don’t like cheating, but I felt for him, I understood that the problem was a lot bigger than some people thought. Axelsson started biking again after a couple of years, and got caught again (have we heard the story before?), now I read that he has the same cancer as Armstrong had in the ninties. Advanced doping with hormones seem to easily produce cancer in the testicles, but of course you can get it without hormones also. But remember: this form of cancer is pretty rare, normally. That I write and speculate, and that we all write and speculate about these matters, have our questions and doubts, our anger and compassion, is a good thing to some degree, whatever can we do? real proof comes sometimes from questioning and debate. It also keep up our mental state and after all prove our care and loving of this sport, even if we have different opinions.
Thanks!
Dear Greg,
I fell in love with this sport watching you compete in the ’80s. I’ve been a huge fan ever since, and proud owner of a well-worn LeMond Zurich. But I don’t know what to believe. I’d hate to think that I suspect Lance if he turns out to be innocent. At the same time, the circumstantial evidence against him is hard to ignore. Either way, I very much respect the stand you’ve taken. You’ve gotten beat up for speaking out, and that’s just not right. Your a great inspiration. It’s one thing to be among the first to go to Europe and have the courage to take on the greats on the road. But it’s a whole other level to have the courage speak out in the face of scorn and ridicule. And the honesty with which you speak of your personal life and trials. Cycling aside, this speaks volumes about you as a man.
Clearly Dormant- (are you pulling my leg?)
EPO was not banned.
Ever hear of Alexi?
Don’t feed the doping wolf, and cycling will become as clean as (american) football.
Everyone wants a super-hero, but even the league of justice were all dopers.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Justiceleagueunlimited.jpg
For a long time now I havent known who to beleive! Riders where taking drugs back in the sixties, Simpson proves that and when I hear certain respected commentators on eurosport speaking I don’t even know if they where doping. I think the new testing regimes we have are the best they’ve ever been and we need to wipe the slate clean coz it will drive us mad otherwise, we will never know unless they choose to tell us. Lets hope the testing gets continually updated to stay ahead of the game. Really respect what Lance Armstrong has done for the sport and cancer awareness but my favourite cycling moment is still Greg lemond stood at the side of the road asking for a wheel from the crowd in the TDF while his whole team where stpped to pace him back to the bunch! Classic!!
e his whole team stopped, to
Greg, Thanks for all you’ve done and continue to do for our sport. With LeMond bikes —> please make the bikes YOU want to make. I look forward to owning one of them again and being able to say, “Well yeah, mine’s a LeMond.”
Great meeting you and Kathy at the Air Force Academy a few years back. I have great pics of you with my eldest son. Thanks for all you still do, and thanks for your comments about Floyd, especially now.
Greg, I would like to applaud you for everything you have done for the sport of cycling. I have spent the last several days going over stories, interviews and video of you yet again. WOW! Is the only word that seems to pop into my mind. You are TRULY a very good person with both your heart and mind in the right place. I also want to thank you for your statement regarding Floyd Landis. A man that can forgive is a true man in my mind. Greg, you are a true man. I followed your career as a cyclist since I was a teenager, as you were too. I remember you winning the TDF in 86’. I told my wife “this man has done what no other American has done….winning the TDF. I am now 48 yrs. Old and find no better joy in life than riding my bike on long tours. I just finished riding from Indianapolis, IN to Mackinaw Island, MI and back with my son. I did not hear of the Floyd Landis news until my return. But the first thing that came to mind was you and your family. The issues you have faced over the years, and the hope everything in your life is good. Finally it appears you are not alone on your fight for “what is good and just”. In some ways, I too have faced adversity with the legal system and “unjust” rulings, but nothing like yours. I also have a son looking to cycling as a true passion. I worry about what the sport is at this moment, and feel helpless in what I can do to improve it. I know this is a very large favor that I am about to ask, especially since you have never met me and know nothing about me. But I feel now is the time Greg. The time to actually make a difference in the PED’s that are being used in cycling. Albeit, it would have been better for someone like George Hincapie to “come out” it’s still a start with Floyd. My favor is this, please help him in any way you can. I know this is a lot to ask, but I am asking it as one father to another. Please, please do anything that can help the world of cycling.
Hi, again.
Hopefully it’s very hard to dope these days without getting caught, and will be in the future, and if it so, the only way to make a real statement, and to change the sport to the better, once and for all, and to end the Armstrong-era, is to stop professional cycling for a couple of years. And start from zero, a real end and a real new beginning, so to speak. As long as the stars dope, the whole peloton will do the same. And the managers with their drugdoctors are on the boat. If Armstrongs victories partly are based on doping, which I believe, unfortunately, and if real proof comes out some day, something like that must be done, I think. Sport and cycling in particular is such an important moral activity. I was born in a poor surrounding, a lot of my friends in school became drug addicts, and some of them are now dead, biking for me was a way out of this, from destructive living. But as I see it, biking is as destructive as anything else as it functions today, at least when it comes to the best: needles, hormones, painkillers, antidepressive, alcohol, prozac, valium, cocaine… you name it. And it probably spreads to the amateurs also, maybe even the young bikers, I don’t know. Something must be done. I hope I can watch the sport on TV in the future without all these doubts and anger that I feel today.