Landis Hearing

[missymaya]

Not only was it stupid of Geohagan do make that call but also very disrespectful, insensitive, and downright disgusting to try to use something that terrible against Lemond. It makes the Landis team look real bad. The whole case has grown into a sideshow.

[teigyr]

Makes me sad. I really really really wanted to think that Floyd is a decent guy and everything's legit. Will be interesting, LeMond is supposed to be at the ride I'm doing tomorrow and I hear he's a really nice guy.

[Zen]

Geoghan is a lawyer (if I have my cast of characters straight)?
I hope he knows the law better than he knows how to be sneaky.
If you want to do something like that you have to get a TracFone and pay cash.

[Derf]

Geoghan is a lawyer (if I have my cast of characters straight)?
I hope he knows the law better than he knows how to be sneaky.
If you want to do something like that you have to get a TracFone and pay cash.

I think he's Landis' manager. Not sure if he's also an attorney.

[NJBikeGal]

I was wondering when this was going to end up on here!

The whole situation (including the continuation of allegations that Puerto has "more names") is simply disappointing. I guess that's what happens in the one sport that actually feels compelled to hunt down and suspend doping violators. Lord knows it is not a top priority in a lot of other athletic fields. But, it sucks to have to question who you look up to as a rider. So, am I allowed to like Valverde -oops, now he's implicated. OK, how about Periero - nope, now he's trying to clear the implicationg of his name, too.

I'll just keep my fingers crossed that the guys (and gals) I love to watch ride don't end up anywhere near that list.

[equus123]

this is playing out to be an interesting case. everything from the interpreter being replaced to prank calls. it certainly spells out trouble so far and i think it's only going to get hairier and crazier as time goes on.

what does everybody think about Floyd's truth? Did he or didn't he? I'm interested to see if/when they get to the physiological side of Floyd's performance on stage 17 if what he did was consistent to his training and peak power numbers. I'm very skeptical about somebody who completely bonks one day (didn't he have dehydration problems?) to winning back several MINUTES over the yellow jersey the next day on a mountain stage. It's really hard for me to believe it was done naturally. Stuff like that really doesn't happen, and it's not that I don't believe in miracles, but a performance from a notable guy that comes completely out of nowhere - that's what I find hard to believe.

The flip side to the question - was there malpractice on the side of the French laboratory? Who knows. I'm unfamiliar with evidence of wrong-doing by this place previously. Does anybody know further information on this subject? I know that Lance, the most tested and hated athlete in France (lol), does not trust ANYTHING French lab-related. I can imagine why he feels that way. Though the thing is....how wrong can they be with their procedures if there's documentation and signoffs throughout the whole test?

Anyway, that's my two cents on the subject.

[Eden]

I'm very skeptical about somebody who completely bonks one day (didn't he have dehydration problems?) to winning back several MINUTES over the yellow jersey the next day on a mountain stage. It's really hard for me to believe it was done naturally. Stuff like that really doesn't happen, and it's not that I don't believe in miracles, but a performance from a notable guy that comes completely out of nowhere - that's what I find hard to believe.

Since all the revelations of the past weeks I totally reserve any judgements on any riders, but after racing for a year I now find it much MORE believable that it could happen than I would have in the past. Not only have I experienced feeling really low one day and exceptional the next - wholly unassisted mind you, if you watch the race the others really blew it tactically. It wasn't as if Floyd went out and totally blew them away. When he went off the front they had all already written him off and figured he'd just blow again, so they let him go waaaaaay to long. When they finally decided to chase it was much too late. It was a combination of Floyd's determination to come back and the slacking of the others - if they had taken him seriously he probably would not have gained back so much time. This does not necessarily mean he is innocent, but I certainly think that it is possible to do what he did without doping.

[Thorn]

Was his performance believable without drugs? Absolutely. I don't race, but even lil' ol' me has had a day where I felt terrible followed by a day I felt could rule the world. And, as Eden pointed out, tactics play a huge role.

Could there be a problem with the lab? Of course. No one is perfect. Like many, I wonder how the lab could catch a positive on only one day of the race and nothing any other....if testing were truly a blind study. It does make the lab look suspect.

But, more than the Landis case, I have a problem with "guilty until proven innocent" mode right now. It is like the McCarthy era--if you don't like someone, mention that they might be athlete #2415 in Operation Puerto. Instantaneously, the athelete is under suspicion. Even if innocent they now have to waste energy defending themselves.

If cycling has a problem, then it needs to address it by developing tight testing protocols with tests that cannot be questioned. How? Gee, that should be interesting to watch, but if they're going to say "guilty" they ought to be able to state it without reasonable doubt.

[equus123]

Good point Eden. Thank you.

[Derf]

what does everybody think about Floyd's truth? Did he or didn't he?

Sadly, I think he did and I think a lot of them dope.