Mott the Hoople
Sweet Jane
Floyd Landis, only the third American to win a TdF title and the only cyclist to be stripped of a TdF title finally admited to doping and, in addition, made accusation of systemic doping by the US Postal Service cycling team, including Lance Armstrong.
Personally, I think Landis has done a good thing. This could be a cynical attempt by him to gain notoriety in order to make a fast back. He could also be clearing his conscience. Given his Mennonite background I'd like to give him the benefit of the doubt, which is hard to to at this point because, as Lance pointed out correctly yesterday, Landis doesn't have a whole lot of credibility left.
As for the accusations he's made, they carry no weight with me. Landis is to lacking in credibility even though there is strong circumstantial evidence that this time, he may be telling the truth.
The fact that so many ex-members of the US Postal Team have tested positive to PED's and Armstrongs long association with a physician known to assist athletes in doping makes it difficult for me to beleive that he wasn't at the least knowledgable of, if not directly involved, in systematic doping on that team. That hardly constitute proof though.
Landis will certainly take some well deserved hits but if he is indeed serious about his conscience bothering him about living a lie then all he needs to do is testify and provided evidence to the US Anti-Doping Agency and to Special Agent Jeff Novitsky of the FDA (the Federal Agent who broke the BALCO case) as he's promised to do and then just quietly dissapear to go lead, as his Mennonite brethern would encourage him, an honest life.
If investigations by USAD and FDA implicate Armstrong then so be it, then that would mean Landis's coming clean will have helped clean up the sport.
Personally, I think Landis has done a good thing. This could be a cynical attempt by him to gain notoriety in order to make a fast back. He could also be clearing his conscience. Given his Mennonite background I'd like to give him the benefit of the doubt, which is hard to to at this point because, as Lance pointed out correctly yesterday, Landis doesn't have a whole lot of credibility left.
As for the accusations he's made, they carry no weight with me. Landis is to lacking in credibility even though there is strong circumstantial evidence that this time, he may be telling the truth.
The fact that so many ex-members of the US Postal Team have tested positive to PED's and Armstrongs long association with a physician known to assist athletes in doping makes it difficult for me to beleive that he wasn't at the least knowledgable of, if not directly involved, in systematic doping on that team. That hardly constitute proof though.
Landis will certainly take some well deserved hits but if he is indeed serious about his conscience bothering him about living a lie then all he needs to do is testify and provided evidence to the US Anti-Doping Agency and to Special Agent Jeff Novitsky of the FDA (the Federal Agent who broke the BALCO case) as he's promised to do and then just quietly dissapear to go lead, as his Mennonite brethern would encourage him, an honest life.
If investigations by USAD and FDA implicate Armstrong then so be it, then that would mean Landis's coming clean will have helped clean up the sport.
