This is an excerpt from an article at the online NY Times site. The full article is here: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/21/sp...landis.html?hp

Interesting allegations and just at the start of the European professional run. Wonder if a book is coming out soon. :-)


VISALIA, Calif. — After four years of maintaining his innocence about doping charges that ruined his reputation and caused him to be stripped of his 2006 Tour de France title, the American cyclist Floyd Landis has sent e-mail messages to several cycling officials in the United States and in Europe in which he admits using performance-enhancing drugs for most of his career.
Two of those officials said that Landis’s messages provided a detailed description of doping that began in 2002, Landis’s first year alongside then-teammate Lance Armstrong. Both were riding for the successful but now-defunct United States Postal Service team. The two officials who received the e-mail did not want their names published, citing ongoing investigations, including by federal authorities, into the content of the e-mail.
In the messages, which were first reported by The Wall Street Journal, Landis accused other top American cyclists on the Postal Service team, including Armstrong, of using performance-enhancing drugs and methods. Other cyclists named were current United States road racing national champion George Hincapie, three-time Tour of California champion Levi Leipheimer and five-time United States time trial champion David Zabriskie.
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ugh...I hate hearing this but I'm not surprised...Not to say that they weren't awesome athletes but I just assume most of them do it.
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He better watch out...Armstrong will go Chuck Norris on him :-)
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I hate when athletes get caught doping and start telling about others. Damn Jose
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[sarcasm]now what a surprise, I really believed his denials[/sarcasm]

They all use, so what? Does that make it less impressive to ride a mountain trail? You can throw all doping in the world at me, I would not even finish the first flat stage of the tour, let alone survive 10 days in the alps.
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I respect Landis as a rider and thought his win in TdF was deserved, but after getting caught and such a fight to say he did not dope is a sham. He would've been a lot better off just admitting to some kind of doping in past and take his 2 years off. He would have millions in the bank and be on a better team now. Look at Basso, Vino, Rico, and Miller. All back in the Pro Tour.

I have a hunch there was a sinister element that prevented him from spilling the beans.
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It's not the achievement of just getting through the tour that makes it bad. It is the fact that it may have helped him achieve it faster than others.
To be honest of you trained and was persistant I feel anyone could finish the tour. There is a big difference between finishing and doing well while finishing.
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They all use Bao, they all get help achieving a better time than others. Some just have better doctors to cover up the use of doping.
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So does that "they all do it" arguement make it any better?
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I had an interesting conversation with Bob Roll about this several years ago. He was quick to point out that although he was not accuseing anyone of dopeing, that the money was not on the detection side.
Garry-
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The Bob Roll? Cool.

I would say it will always be the case...as the $$ is in the dark side first. :-)
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Yup, Bobke himself. I first met him at a Mtn Bike race in 91', I have been in the bike industry since 95ish.

Greg LeMond has been saying the same thing for many years...
Garry-
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Yes, as it is not cheating if everybody does it right? Landis his doping use didn't make him better than the rest if they all use, his training and talent made him better.
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I'm no fan of the sport, but I do find it interesting that it seems biking has about the same integrity as pro wrestling.
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Landis is a punk. I wanted to believe in him soooo badly. I was open to the idea that he was framed until he got convicted of the computer hacking of the labs that did the testing, then he lost me. I think he is just trying to be vindictive now and wants everyone to go down with him whether they doped or not.
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He's a cheater and a liar by his own admission. Why in the world would anyone waste a moment's time to listen to anything he says beyond that?
I'm certainly not impressed. At least he'll make some money talking to Oprah about how he was wronged.
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That is the worst argument I've ever heard...why do you think that it was his talent and training that pushed him ahead and not the fact that he might have had better doctors with better procedures?
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I still like cycling and especially the TdF, but this destroys any respect I had for USPS or Discovery. I'd have to assume that they all were doping. Every year, they dominated. Lance didn't win because he was that good, he won because his team was that doped up.
Unfortunately, I came to this conclusion a couple of years ago. Of course, who do you root for in this sport? It's a shame.
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I just hope that none of the Red Lantern recipients were doping...I mean hell, if you have to dope just to finish last then you might have well just quit in stage 1. I hope Contador is clean I really like him
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My feelings exactly. :-)
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