Floyd Landis
The article's lead section may need to be rewritten. (July 2023) |
Personal information | |
---|---|
Full name | Floyd Landis |
Born | Farmersville, Pennsylvania, U.S. | October 14, 1975
Height | 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in) |
Weight | 68 kg (150 lb) |
Team information | |
Current team | Retired |
Discipline | Road |
Role | Rider |
Rider type | All-rounder |
Professional teams | |
1999–2001 | Mercury |
2002–2004 | U.S. Postal Service |
2005–2006 | Phonak |
2009 | OUCH–Maxxis |
2010 | Bahati Foundation |
Major wins | |
Stage races
|
Floyd Landis (born October 14, 1975) is an American former professional
Landis was an all-around rider, with special skills in climbing, time-trialing, and descending. He turned professional in 1999 with the Mercury Cycling Team, joined the U.S. Postal Service team in 2002, and moved to the Phonak Hearing Systems team in 2005. In January 2010, a French judge issued a national arrest warrant for Landis on computer hacking charges related to the 2006 Tour de France, stage 17 doping allegations.[2][3]
In 2010 Landis maintained his innocence and mounted a defense. Although his legal team documented inconsistencies in the handling and evaluation of his urine samples, the disqualification was upheld. He was suspended from professional competition through January 30, 2009, following an arbitration panel's 2-to-1 ruling on September 20, 2007. He appealed the result of the arbitration hearing to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, which subsequently upheld the panel's ruling.[4] In January 2011, he was unable to find a new team, which effectively ended his professional career.[5] On May 20, 2010, after almost four years of contesting the allegations, Landis admitted to doping, and revealed that Lance Armstrong and many other top riders who rode on his team doped as well.[6][7]
Early life and education
Landis is the second child and oldest son of Paul and Arlene Landis. His childhood home is in the village of
Disturbed at his son's participation in what he considered a "useless" endeavor, Landis's father tried to discourage him from racing his bike by giving him extra chores. This left him no time to train during the day, so he would sneak out of the house at night to train, sometimes at 1 or 2 a.m. and often in the freezing cold. His father received a tip that his son had been going out at night; he did not appreciate his son's passion for cycling and thought he might be getting into drugs or alcohol.[11] He often followed Landis at a distance to make sure he was not getting into trouble. He later became an enthusiastic supporter of his son and described himself as one of Floyd's biggest fans.[12][13]
Career
Master of the Mountains
Landis won the first mountain bike race he entered. In 1993, he was crowned U.S. junior national champion. He told friends he would win the Tour de France one day. At the age of 20 Landis moved to Southern California to train full-time as a mountain biker. He soon established a reputation for toughness, once finishing a race riding on only his rims.[14] However, his training regimen resembled that of a road biker, and in 1999 he switched to road cycling.
Landis performed well enough on the road that
In the
Hip ailment
Landis' performance up to stage 16 of the
Landis rode the 2006 Tour with constant pain from the injury, saying "It's bad, it's grinding, it's bone rubbing on bone. Sometimes it's a sharp pain. When I pedal and walk, it comes and goes, but mostly it's an ache, like an arthritis pain. It aches down my leg into my knee. The morning is the best time, it doesn't hurt too much. But when I walk it hurts, when I ride it hurts. Most of the time it doesn't keep me awake, but there are nights that it does."[18] During the Tour he was medically approved to take cortisone for this injury, a medication otherwise prohibited in professional cycling for its known potential for abuse. He called his first place in the General Classification "a triumph of persistence" despite the pain.[19] He was stripped of his win on September 20, 2006.
Landis underwent hip resurfacing on September 27, 2006, receiving a Smith and Nephew Birmingham metal-on-metal hip joint.[20]
Doping case: 2006–2007
On July 27, 2006, the Phonak Cycling Team announced a urine sample submitted by Landis tested positive for an unusually high ratio of the hormone testosterone to the hormone epitestosterone (T/E ratio) after his performance in stage 17 of the 2006 Tour de France.[21] Landis denied doping and placed faith in a test using his backup sample.[22] Phonak stated that he would be dismissed should the backup sample also test positive. It did, and Landis was suspended from professional cycling and dismissed from his team.[23] Landis's personal physician later disclosed that the test had found a T/E ratio of 11:1 in Landis, far above the maximum allowable ratio of 4:1.[24][25][26]
The test on Landis's stage 17 A sample had been performed by the French government's anti-doping clinical laboratory, the National Laboratory for Doping Detection (LNDD). LNDD is a division of the Ministry of Youth, Sport, and Social Life and is accredited by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).[27] In early August, Landis was found guilty of doping and was disqualified. Second place rider Óscar Pereiro became the race's official winner. The decision of whether to strip Landis of his title was made by the International Cycling Union (UCI).[28] Under UCI rules, the determination of whether a cyclist violated any rules must be made by the cyclist's national federation, in this case USA Cycling, which transferred the case to the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA).[28][29][30]
David Witt, a close personal friend who introduced Landis to his future wife (the daughter of Witt's then girlfriend and future wife), shot himself with a handgun in the
On September 20, 2007, Landis was found guilty of doping by a 2–1 vote of the hearing committee, with Patrice Brunet and Richard McLaren in the majority, and Christopher Campbell dissenting. Landis was banned from the sport for two years, dated retroactively to January 2007.[36] Landis appealed the decision of the committee to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). The hearing ran from March 19 to 24, 2008, in New York City. The decision was announced on June 30, 2008,[37] with the result that the conviction and ban were upheld. In September 2008, Landis moved in U.S. federal court to vacate the CAS arbitration award, contending that the procurement of the award was tainted by partiality and conflicts of interest. Landis contested the $100,000 U.S. "costs" award, characterizing it as a disguised punitive award.[38] The parties agreed to dismiss the case with prejudice in December 2008, ending the litigation surrounding the doping case.[39]
On April 14, 2009, the French newspaper L'Express reported information that had been obtained from hacking into the French national laboratory for doping detection. The information was sent to a Canadian counterpart lab from a computer registered to Arnie Baker, Landis's ex-coach.[40] On August 25, 2009, The New York Times reported, "No evidence has surfaced to connect Mr. Landis or Dr. Baker to the hacking, and each has denied any involvement."[41] However, on February 15, 2010, it became known that a French judge issued an arrest warrant for Landis on the hacking charge in late January.[42]
During 2006 and 2007, Landis is believed to have raised about $1 million from the "Floyd Fairness Fund", established by businessman Thom Weisel.[43] He appealed to supporters to donate "anything they could" to help him pay his reportedly $2 million legal bill, while denying his involvement in doping.[44] Landis reached an agreement with federal prosecutors over allegations that he fraudulently solicited donations for a defense fund he set up to fight doping charges. He appeared before a federal judge on August 24, 2012, for a "deferred prosecution" hearing at which he agreed to pay restitution.[45]
Return to cycling
After his two-year ban ended in early 2009, Landis returned to cycling with the
Doping accusations and admission: 2010
On May 20, 2010, midway through the
Armstrong and Team RadioShack maintained that Landis and his coach had asked for a spot on
Landis stated that Armstrong told him in 2002 that U.S. Postal Service Pro Cycling Team director Johan Bruyneel had made a "financial arrangement" with the International Cycling Union (UCI) to ensure that details of a positive test on Armstrong remained confidential.[53] Pat McQuaid, the president of UCI, who had received copies of Landis' emails, said that Landis's allegations were "completely untrue", that Landis was "seeking revenge,"[7] and that UCI had "made contact with a lawyer and will take appropriate action."[53]
Bruyneel "absolutely denied everything Landis said" and noted that several people "have had the story for a few weeks but didn't give it any credibility" and that Landis was "angry at the world" for the collapse of his career following his conviction.
Landis filed a federal
Post-cycling career
In July 2011, Landis gave an interview to Graham Bensinger in which he described his plans and training to race professionally in NASCAR.[63]
In November 2011, Landis and his former coach,
Landis is portrayed by American actor Jesse Plemons in the 2015 film The Program, directed by Stephen Frears and starring Ben Foster as Lance Armstrong and Chris O'Dowd as David Walsh.[68]
He opened a cannabis company in Colorado in mid-2016.[68][69]
Landis' 2006 Tour de France attack gained new attention at the 2018 Giro d'Italia, when Chris Froome's race-clinching long-range solo breakaway on Stage 19 of the 2018 Giro d'Italia was described by fellow rider George Bennett immediately after the stage as "doing a Landis".[70]
In October 2018, Landis announced that he would launch a new
Career achievements
Major results
- 1998
- 1st National Under–23 Mountain Bike Championships
- 5th Sea Otter Classic
- 1999
- 1st Stage 1 Tour de Langkawi
- 2nd Overall Cascade Cycling Classic
- 1st Stage 1
- 3rd Overall Tour de l'Avenir
- 5th Overall Tour de Beauce
- 2000
- 1st Tour du Poitou-Charentes
- 4th Overall Tour de l'Avenir
- 5th Overall Tour de Langkawi
- 1st Stage 1 (ITT)
- 9th Overall Redlands Classic
- 2001
- 1st Stage 2 (Route du Sud
- 2002
- 1st Stage 3 Tirreno–Adriatico
- 2nd Overall Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré
- 5th Circuit de la Sarthe
- 9th Eddy Merckx Grand Prix
- 2003
- 1st Stage 4 (TTT) Tour de France
- 2004
- 1st Overall Volta ao Algarve
- 1st Stage 5
- 1st Stage 1 (TTT) Vuelta a España
- 7th Overall Tour of the Basque Country
- 8th Overall Critérium International
- 2005
- 1st Stage 1 (ITT) Tour of the Basque Country
- 2nd Eindhoven Team Time Trial
- 1st Tour de Georgia
- 1st Stage 3 (TTT)
- 9th Overall Tour de France
- 2006
1st Overall Tour de France1st Stage 17
- 1st USA Cycling National Racing Calendar
- 1st Overall Paris–Nice
- 1st Overall Tour of California
- 1st Stage 3 (ITT)
- 1st Tour de Georgia
- 1st Stage 3 (ITT)
- 2010
- 2nd Tour of the Battenkill
- 4th Overall Tour of Southland
Grand Tour general classification results timeline
Grand Tour | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Giro d'Italia | — | — | — | — | — |
Tour de France | 61 | 77 | 23 | 9 | |
Vuelta a España
|
— | 76 | DNF | DNF | — |
Did not finish = DNF; Voided results = struck through.
See also
References
- ^ "Phonak Cycling Team to clarify consequences". Phonak Cycling Team. August 5, 2006. Archived from the original on August 27, 2006. Retrieved August 5, 2006.
- ^ Jolly, David. (February 19, 2010) "Arrest Warrant For Floyd Landis". The New York Times, 2010-02-15. Nytimes.com. Retrieved May 30, 2011.
- ^ "Floyd Landis hacked into anti-doping agency computers says France". Newsolio, February 15, 2010.
- ^ "BBC Cycling News, June 8th 2008, Landis ban appeal is turned down". BBC News. June 30, 2008. Retrieved July 17, 2010.
- ^ a b "Landis retires from cycling, effective immediately". Cyclingnews.com. Future Publishing Limited. January 18, 2011. Retrieved January 18, 2011.
- ^ a b Albergotti, Reed (May 20, 2010). "Cyclist Floyd Landis Admits Doping, Alleges Use by Armstrong and Others". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved May 20, 2010.
- ^ a b c Bonnie D. Ford (May 20, 2010). "Landis admits doping, accuses Lance". ESPN.
- ^ Everson, Darren (July 30, 2006). Landis lived in the Conestoga Valley School District. World Descends on Farmersville. New York Daily News, p. 62-63.
- ^ ISBN 978-1-4169-5023-3.
- ^ Zarembo, Alan (May 22, 2010). "Floyd Landis has nothing left to lose – Los Angeles Times". Articles.latimes.com. Retrieved July 17, 2010.
- ^ Floyd Landis – Mennonite in tights. The Religion Report July 26, 2006
- Television broadcast of the 2006 Tour de France, July 22, 2006
- ^ Coyle, Daniel (July 2006). "The New American in Paris". Outside Magazine. Archived from the original on September 26, 2010.
- ^ "Landis, Tiger rise to the occasion". Sierra Sun. July 23, 2006. Archived from the original on August 6, 2006. Retrieved July 25, 2006.
- ^ "Cycling". The Philadelphia Inquirer. September 7, 2004. p. E03. Retrieved June 6, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "The Tour de Georgia – it's not quite like competing in the Tour de France". National Post. Toronto. April 25, 2006. p. 36. Retrieved June 6, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "What He's Been Pedaling", The New York Times, July 16, 2006.
- ^ "Landis's Hip Will Need Surgery After Bid for Tour", The New York Times, July 10, 2006.
- ^ Fotheringham, Alasdair (July 24, 2006). "Cycling: Landis the Tour king celebrates a triumph of survival". The Independent. London. Archived from the original on August 6, 2006. Retrieved July 28, 2006. (subscription required)
- ^ "Recovery". Sioux City Journal. September 30, 2006. p. 20. Retrieved June 6, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Landis gives positive drugs test". BBC Sport. July 27, 2006. Retrieved August 1, 2006.
- ^ Toman, Mar (July 31, 2006). "Landis requests backup sample to clear doping allegations".
- ^ "Landis gives positive drugs test". BBC News. July 27, 2006.
- ^ "Landis sample 'well above limit'". BBC News. August 2, 2006. Retrieved August 2, 2006.
- ^ Macur, Juliet (July 31, 2006). "Testosterone in Landis's Body Said Not to Be Natural". The New York Times. Retrieved August 1, 2006.
- ^ The T/E ratio allowable limit is based on new science, and that there has been controversy about whether the WADA limit of 4:1 is scientifically acceptable, in other words, that this limit is too low. The Landis ratio of 11:1 would not have disqualified him a country such as Australia.
- ^ Eustice, John (August 16, 2006). "What if Floyd Landis were innocent?". International Herald Tribune. Retrieved August 16, 2006.
- ^ a b "Backup Test Confirms Adverse Findings in Tour de France Champ Landis' Urine". FoxNews.com. August 5, 2006. Archived from the original on December 12, 2007. Retrieved August 5, 2006.
- ^ "Landis Tests Positive; Title is a total complete loss". Chicago Tribune. August 5, 2006.
- ^ "US Cycling hands Landis case to USADA". The Guardian. London. August 6, 2006. Retrieved August 6, 2006. [dead link]
- San Diego Union-Tribune. August 17, 2006. Archived from the originalon August 20, 2006. Retrieved August 17, 2006.
- ^ "Landis' father-in-law found dead". cyclingnews.com. August 16, 2006. Retrieved August 17, 2006.
- ^ "Landis' father-in-law found dead". velonews.com. August 16, 2006. Archived from the original on October 19, 2006. Retrieved August 18, 2006.
- ^ "ESPN.com's Q&A with Floyd Landis". espn.com. May 24, 2010. Retrieved July 23, 2010.
- ^ Hood, Andrew (August 15, 2006). "End of the road for Phonak". Velo News. Archived from the original on March 17, 2014. Retrieved July 23, 2012.
- ^ "Arbitrators Find Landis Guilty Of Doping, Must Forfeit Tour Title". New York Sun via AP. September 21, 2007. Retrieved July 23, 2012.
- ^ "CAS News". Tas-cas.org. Archived from the original on March 25, 2010. Retrieved July 17, 2010.
- ^ "Floyd_Landis_federal_case : Free Download & Streaming : Internet Archive". March 10, 2001. Retrieved July 17, 2010.
- ^ "Trust But Verify, "Federal Case Over"". Trustbut.blogspot.com. December 6, 2008. Retrieved July 17, 2010.
- ^ "Greenpeace: révélations sur l'affaire d'espionnage". LExpress.fr (in French). April 15, 2009. Retrieved July 17, 2010.
- ^ Jolly, David (August 1, 2009). "In French Inquiry, a Glimpse at Corporate Spying". The New York Times. Retrieved May 2, 2010.
- ^ "French judge issues arrest warrant for Landis". VeloNews via Agence France Presse. February 15, 2010. Archived from the original on August 31, 2011. Retrieved July 23, 2012.
- ^ Matt Seaton (January 15, 2013). "Lance Armstrong's associates: who might be drawn into legal proceedings?". The Guardian. London.
- San Diego Union-Tribune.
- ^ "Report: Landis strikes deal with feds, who won't pursue fraud charges if he pays back donors". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on December 24, 2018. Retrieved August 24, 2012.
- ^ a b UnitedHealthcare announces title sponsorship Cycling News, December 17, 2009
- ^ Landis to Race April 19 in NY ESPN, April 3, 2009
- ^ Landis admits tour dream return is over Cycling News, November 1, 2009
- ^ AFP (July 21, 2010). "It's me and my shadow for lone wolf Landis in Oregon". Archived from the original on July 25, 2010. Retrieved July 21, 2010.
- ^ Holcomb, Brian. (July 21, 2010) "Floyd Landis heads to Cascade as Bahati Foundation team reorganizes". VeloNews.com. Retrieved July 22, 2010
- ^ From May 22, 2010 USA Today article, "Lance Armstrong makes public emails from Floyd Landis", Archived December 6, 2010, at the Wayback Machine which used Floyd Landis emails provided by Lance Armstrong as its source. Floyd Landis to Andrew Messick: "I certainly understand that my revealing that Lance Armstrong has relied on blood doping, EPO, and anabolics to win the three Tours de France in which I helped him will jeopardize your substantial investment in facilitating his appearance so from a business point of view I understand fully."
- ^ a b Albergotti, Reed; O'Connell, Vanessa (July 3–4, 2010). "Blood Brothers". Wall Street Journal. p. W1.
- ^ a b Greg Johnson (May 20, 2010). "Floyd Landis confesses to doping, implicates Armstrong and Bruyneel". Cyclingnews.com.
- ^ "Johan Bruyneel Comments on Landis Situation". Team RadioShack. May 20, 2010. Archived from the original on May 23, 2010.
- San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved May 21, 2010.
- ^ Henderson, John (May 27, 2010). "Landis fallout continues as Garmin official gets support in doping allegations". The Denver Post. Retrieved July 14, 2010.
- ^ Nathaniel Vinton (June 9, 2010). "Government assigns federal prosecutor Doug Miller to cycling case sparked by Floyd Landis e-mail". New York Daily News. Retrieved July 5, 2010.
- ^ "U.S. Mulls Joining Cycling Lawsuit". Wall Street Journal. WSJ.com. September 4, 2010. Archived from the original on October 17, 2013. Retrieved October 17, 2013.
- ^ "Armstrong Asks to Be Deposed for Multiple Suits at Once". Wall Street Journal. WSJ.com. September 23, 2013. Archived from the original on October 18, 2013. Retrieved October 17, 2013.
- ^ "Justice Joins Suit Against Armstrong". WSJ.com. February 22, 2013. Archived from the original on October 18, 2013. Retrieved October 17, 2013.
- ^ "Lance Armstrong handed defeat by federal judge". Usatoday.com. February 13, 2017. Retrieved March 25, 2017.
- ^ Andone, Dakin (April 19, 2018). "Lance Armstrong to pay US government $5 million to settle lawsuit". CNN. Retrieved May 1, 2018.
- ^ InDepth with Graham Bensinger, July 15, 2011
- ^ "Landis Guilty in Hacking," New York Times, November 10, 2011
- ^ "Reports: Floyd Landis under federal investigation". USA Today. April 27, 2012. Retrieved July 23, 2012.
- ^ "Floyd Landis admits fraud, ordered to pay $478,000 in restitution". Velonews. August 24, 2012. Archived from the original on August 27, 2012. Retrieved August 24, 2012.
- ^ "Cyclist Floyd Landis reaches deal on fraud counts". CBS Interactive, Inc. August 28, 2012. Retrieved August 28, 2012.
- ^ a b Cushionbury, Mike (June 24, 2016). "Floyd Landis launches new cannabis company in Colorado". Dirt Rag Magazine. Archived from the original on June 27, 2016. Retrieved June 27, 2016.
- ^ Rasmussen, Benjamin; Hart, Matt (May 2018). "The Man Who Brought Down Lance Armstrong Floyd Landis, a former teammate of the cyclist's, just won more than $1 million in a legal case against Armstrong. Here are his thoughts on the suit, cycling, and his onetime rival". The Atlantic. Retrieved May 14, 2018.
- ^ "Bennett defends his 'Froome did a Landis' comments". Cycling News. May 26, 2018. Retrieved July 11, 2018.
'Disclaimer to avoid any misinterpretation: this is not an insinuation, but a way to express the admiration for an exceptional achievement. Congratulations to Chris Froome and Team Sky,' the team wrote on their Twitter feed.
- ^ Cash, Dane (October 5, 2018). "Q&A: Why Floyd Landis is starting a cycling team". VeloNews. Retrieved October 5, 2018.
- ^ Ballinger, Alex (November 13, 2019) Floyd Landis's Continental team is folding after one season Cycling Weekly. Retrieved May 25, 2020
External links
- Official site
- "WADA Memo on Landis Decision July 9, 2008" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on September 10, 2008. Retrieved July 28, 2008.