News / Sports
Floyd Landis Doping Scandal Takes Bizarre Twist
Winning the 2006 Tour de France was supposed to be a right of passage for Floyd Landis. Having served in the background for so long for seven-time winner Lance Armstrong, Landis’ victory was a statement that he had always carried the ability to win cycling’s premier event yet put team first as Armstrong rode to glory.
What has happened since Landis’ remarkable come-from-behind Tour win has been anything but a celebration, instead it has been a nonstop battle to clear his name from doping allegations and positive test results that have placed his victory under a dark cloud of controversy.
On Thursday that cloud opened up and poured down shocking testimony from America’s other great Tour champion, three-time winner Greg LeMond.
LeMond has taken a proactive role in assisting the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency as they attempt to discredit Landis yet what he revealed on Thursday shocked many beyond belief.
In his testimony LeMond described a phone conversation he had with Landis shortly after his positive test was announced. LeMond said he shared with Landis his own story of being sexually abuse as a child and told Landis that he should admit to doping in an effort to save both the cycling world and his own mental health.
As it turned out Landis opted not to take the advice of LeMond. According to LeMond, Landis turned the revelation of LeMond’s abuse into a bargaining chip and attempted to blackmail the former champ. In an effort to keep LeMond silent a phone call was placed by Will Geoghegan, a close friend of Landis, warning LeMond that if he testified against Landis his story of sexual abuse would become public information.
Whether or not LeMond’s testimony will be allowed into evidence has yet to be determined but the spoke in te wheel of Landis’ campaign to win public support may have been the intention all along.
