The latest statement from Floyd

[latelatebloomer]

A local public radio show did an hour about Floyd this week. I was able to sneak about 20 minutes of listening time at work The reporter from the Boston Globe who has covered cycling for years was on - I'm very sorry that I forget her name. She found the doping accusation questionable because
1)this lab leaked the test results in an unprofessional manner 2)Floyd's test results for the other tour stages were clear, and the substance he's accused of using would hang around 3) this is not a substance that a cyclist would not want to use. She also talked about what a plain unpolished guy Floyd is, no publicity handlers, lawyers, etc, and she was concerned that he was not handling this well. Of course, he has some of those people now. My husband says he should hire me. I just wish I could send the guy a letter of support, but I can't for the life of me find an address of any kind.

Free Floyd!

[Kalidurga]

The results of the 'B' test were also positive: velonews.com

At this point, I can't decide if what I'm feeling is faith in Floyd, or just plain denial. I hope that he goes in for every single test he possibly can to prove that this was a natural ocurrence. If, like Tyler Hamilton, he can't come up with proof, then this is damned sad.

[jeannierides]

The results of the 'B' test were also positive: velonews.com

At this point, I can't decide if what I'm feeling is faith in Floyd, or just plain denial. I hope that he goes in for every single test he possibly can to prove that this was a natural ocurrence. If, like Tyler Hamilton, he can't come up with proof, then this is damned sad.

I feel the same way. I want with all of my heart to believe Floyd is exactly as he seems - a good guy who just wants to ride his bike.
I was talking with the owner of my lbs, who said that "all the pro cyclists use and that there are no exceptions (he got his information from a *friend* who used to ride professionally) - otherwise who could make it through the gruelling three-week tour?" Maybe it's naive, but I just don't want to believe that...

If I stop following the pros - like I'm contemplating - it won't be because I believe Floyd did anything wrong. It will be because of the way this whole thing has been handled from the beginning.

[Kalidurga]

This reader comment from over at bicycling.com's Boulder Report makes some really good points (bolded):

I can't stand the thin line between glory and humiliation in this sport. I also can't stand the hypocrisy. If everyone dopes, then Landis is the winner. Maybe the other riders should say that.

I don't know the answer to cleaning up the sport. I'm sure they'd all like to ride clean. But after Tyler and now Floyd, whether or not Landis' B sample is positive or negative, I'm not watching any more cycling. Why should I invest time and emotion in a sport only to see the people I'd been cheering for publicly destroyed and humiliated? That's sickening. It's worse than the prospect of someone doping, especially if they're all doping.

No one knows what to believe any more. The race organizers are the worst--they profit from the riders, and then turn on them when it's convenient.

They need to make radical changes in the sport. Shorten the stages of the tour. Give amnesty to everyone and start fresh. Test everyone at the beginning of the race.

I agree with a lot of that. If the entire peloton is doping and Floyd is just one of many, as the media would lead us to believe, then he still won fairly. If Floyd's clean, though, then his Stage 17 win is even more impressive, considering he beat all of his supposedly doped fellow riders.

I also think that, at this point, this entire situation has given a worse black eye to WADA and the UCI than it has to Floyd. Floyd still has my sympathy, but **** Pound and Pat McQuaid... Well, I'd say what I think of them, but I don't want to use that kind of language this early in the morning (which is funny, considering the forum seems to automatically edit the diminutive of Richard Pound's name).

[ChainsOflove]

If they totally take Floyd down, I'm done with UCI. I won't watch or support it.
I'll just follow u.s. and local. I am very bummed out about all this.