Floyd Landis speaks...

[Bike Chick]

I like Bikesnob's suggestion that Landis truly redeem himself by returning all the money. The whole thing sickens me. Honor has been left on the roadside.

[Tri Girl]

wow. I believed him.
It makes me cranky all these athletes who vehemently deny doping for years, then come clean to clear their consciences. If they really wanted to do that, they would have come clean right away.
And I'm probably going to go down with the ship, but I just can't believe Lance doped.
I know it happens. I know it's real.
It's just sad...

[AMP]

Loved NY Biker's links. I was so upset about the whole doping thing and went off on an impassioned rant. I totally apologize. After reading the Bike Snob's take and then all the posts after, I just started laughing. Those 'roid boys do talk smack.

Got my perspective back. The world goes on.

I think I was too quick to give Landis credit for 'fessing. Guess my brain was trying to figure some purity here somewhere. Forget that.

Think I'm gonna go play with my pretty new bike and forget all the nasty stuff.

[jobob]

I read the book (but didn't pay retail, just in case he DID cheat).

That made me laugh out loud. Thanks!

[Possegal]

A year or so ago we had a speaker at our weekly scientific rounds, and it was the chief scientist for USADA. He started the talk out by saying something like - the lawyers have informed me that I am absolutely not to talk to you about Floyd Landis, other than to say that this has taken over my life for the last X years. His talk was very interesting, sort of a 'sports doping through the years'. He gave some case reports without naming the athletes. A few of us in the room knew where his chimera data was coming from!

I believed Floyd had doped, however I didn't believe he was a habitual doper. That admission caught me by surprise.

[kenyonchris]

Actually, I'm proud of Landis. I believe him when he says that he has to get it off his conscience. He's lately been working with underprivledged at risk kids, and it's my belief that he knows he can do no good with them unless he quits lying. And, trust me, he's about to be crucified publicly. Much like Greg LeMond who spoke out against blood doping and has lost most of his business and been dragged into ruinously expensive lawsuits. I'm proud of LeMond too.

Uh...wow. I'll bite.
Not for ONE MINUTE do I think he is doing it because he is lying awake at night worrying about his street cred with the poor kids. Sorry if that sounds cynical (more cynical than my original post). His timing, the inflammatory statements, the very poor manner in which he has staged this "confession" and the connected allegations are all incredibly suspect as to the validity of his motives.

[ny biker]

To hear the boys from Radio Shack tell it, Floyd is just pissed off because (a) Johan refused to give him a job and (b) he didn't get to race in the Tour of California this year.

Which brings me to my next point -- if you're going to accuse Lance and Johan of something, you'd better have your ducks in a row, because they are smart strategists with plenty of experience handling the media and plenty of good lawyers.

[smilingcat]

I'm too jaded... Let the soap opra continue and when the credits roll, we may have some thin truth.

Mr. Landis comes across more as a psychopathic liar in which even a seasoned police interogators and trained psychologist can't tell if the subject is telling the truth or not. I asked a veteran narcotics investigator about how to tell if a psychopathic liar is telling the truth or not. His reply was "LOL, when you figure it out, let us know"

soo Mr. Landis comments are non-sequitor at best. I wouldn't lose sleep over what he says.

[Selkie]

I never believed him, and I didn't think he was a good liar. But smilingcat is right, Mr. Landis seems to have issues...

The guy has disgraced himself in a very public way. If he's genuinely sorry, he will return the money.

I wonder if his next sporting event will be boxing Tanya Harding? Dancing with the Stars?

[Bike Chick]

I was such a fan of his at the Tour de France and really wanted to believe him. It was a storybook finish and I so wanted it not to be true even though my gut was telling me it probably was. Even last year at the Tour of Missouri, he was one of the riders I sought out after the race and still didn't want to believe it was true. Now he's acting like a spoiled little kid and showing his rear.

Am I just ignorant? I feel so betrayed by him, Mark McGuire, Sammy Sosa, and on and on and on. What do we expect, though? When you dangle that much money and fame on a stick, athletes are going to be tempted to do whatever they can to grab it.

[Tri Girl]

What do we expect, though? When you dangle that much money and fame on a stick, athletes are going to be tempted to do whatever they can to grab it.

And that's exactly what's wrong with our society.
Meanwhile, teachers, police officers, nurses, etc get paid pennies and are the ones actually doing something worthwhile with their life (sorry, I don't think professional athlete's jobs are truly meaningful in a society).


Sorry- back to the original post (I'll step down from my soapbox).


Kenyonchris- I totally agree with you!! This was not about doing what's right- it's about his selfish agenda.

[Norse]

I think Landis may have some mental health issues. That does not excuse the fact that he is also a lying POS who basically stole money from innocent people - what he did was no different than a con artist, a felon.

[jobob]

I think Landis may have some mental health issues. That does not excuse the fact that he is also a lying POS who basically stole money from innocent people - what he did was no different than a con artist, a felon.

Well, I suppose one could argue that anyone who lies through their teeth and steals money from innocent, trusting people has mental health issues.

But I get your point -- he probably didn't start out as a lying POS; a combination of the environment he was in, the circumstances he was under, and his own personal emotional/psychological/physiological response to those factors led to all this.

That'll be five cents, please.

[Norse]

Well, I suppose one could argue that anyone who lies through their teeth and steals money from innocent, trusting people has mental health issues.

It's not just the incredible lying while begging for money, it's the weirdo sex phone call he had placed to Lemond, the middle of the night harrassing texts and emails, trying to hack into the lab's computer system.... I just think the guy is warped.

[Jiffer]

Yeah, this totally bums me out. I even met Floyd at a thing he did at our LBS and my husband had a "epic ride" with him. Still have photos of the event in our bike cabinet. Not to mention hubby read his book, bought the book for others and was given the book as a gift by at least two or three people. He seemed to lean toward believing Floyd, but luckily was never 100% convinced.

As for Lance, however, hubby says he's the most tested athlete in the world. The winners of the big races always get tested and when they do random testing, Lance seems to "randomly" get tested far more than anyone else. He has also been tested voluntarily many times, because he wants to prove he's clean. So, hubby has a harder time believing that accusation. I really hope the accusation is false. Nine Tour de France wins and one of the biggest names in sports. What a let down that would be.