Report: Landis admits doping and fingers Armstrong

[buddahj]

NEW YORK (AP)—Disgraced American cyclist Floyd Landis has admitted to systematic use of performance-enhancing drugs and accused seven-time Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong of involvement in doping, the Wall Street Journal reported Thursday.

 

Landis, who was stripped of his 2006 Tour de France title for doping but had always denied cheating, sent a series of e-mails to cycling officials and sponsors acknowledging and detailing his long-term use of banned drugs, the newspaper said.

 

The report said Landis wrote in the e-mails that he started doping in 2002, his first year racing with the U.S. Postal Service team led by Armstrong.

 

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Landis also admitted to doping in an interview with ESPN.com.

 

Landis also accused American riders Levi Leipheimer and Dave Zabriskie and Armstrong’s longtime coach, Johan Bruyneel, of involvement in doping, the Journal reported.

 

Armstrong is currently competing in the Tour of California and couldn’t be reached for comment. Neither could Bruyneel, Leipheimer or Zabriskie.

 

The Journal said it had seen copies of three e-mails sent by Landis between April 30 and May 6, and that he had copied in seven people on the messages, including officials with USA Cycling and international governing body UCI.

 

Landis served a two-year ban after testing positive for elevated testosterone levels at the 2006 Tour. He was the first rider stripped of a Tour de France title.

 

“I want to clear my conscience,” Landis told ESPN.com. “I don’t want to be part of the problem any more.”

 

He also said he was speaking out now in part because the World Anti-Doping Agency’s eight-year statute of limitations was close to running out.

 

“If I don’t say something now then it’s pointless to ever say it,” Landis said.

 

He told ESPN.com that his most difficult phone call was to his mother to tell her the truth for the first time.

 

Landis’ parents did not immediately return a phone message left at their home in Lancaster County, Pa. Paul and Arlene Landis, devout Mennonites, had always defended their son against doping accusations.

 

UCI president Pat McQuaid questioned Landis’ credibility in a telephone interview Thursday with The Associated Press.

 

“What’s his agenda?” McQuaid said. “The guys is seeking revenge. It’s sad, it’s sad for cycling. It’s obvious he does hold a grudge.”

 

McQuaid said he received copies of the e-mails sent by Landis to the U.S. cycling federation, but declined to comment on their contents. He said Landis’ allegations were “nothing new.”

 

“He already made those accusations in the past,” McQuaid said. “Armstrong has been accused many times in the past but nothing has been proved against him. And in this case, I have to question the guy’s credibility. There is no proof of what he says. We are speaking about a guy who has been condemned for doping before a court.”

 

In the ESPN.com interview, Landis detailed extensive use of the blood-boosting drug EPO, testosterone, human growth hormone and blood transfusions, as well as female hormones and a one-time experiment with insulin. He said the doping occurred during the years he rode for the U.S. Postal Service and Swiss-based Phonak teams.

 

In one of the e-mails seen by the Wall Street Journal, dated April 30, Landis said he flew to Girona, Spain, in 2003 and had two half-liter units of blood extracted from his body in a three-week interval to be used later during the Tour de France.

 

According to the newspaper, Landis claimed the blood extractions took place in Armstrong’s apartment. He said blood bags belonging to Armstrong and then-teammate George Hincapie were kept in a refrigerator in Armstrong’s closet and Landis was asked to check the temperature of the blood daily.

 

When Armstrong left for a few weeks, he asked Landis to “make sure the electricity didn’t go off and ruin the blood,” according to the e-mail quoted by the Journal.

 

AP Sports Writer Samuel Petrequin in Paris and AP Writer Mike Rubinkam in Allentown, Pa., contributed to this report.

Why won't Landis just go away. I'm pretty sure 99.5% of all the cyclist in the Tour de France cheat.

Edited May 20, 2010 by buddahj

[detlef]

Why won't Landis just go away. I pretty sure 99.5% of all the cyclist in the Tour de France cheat.

And they don't seem to care at all. That's the appalling thing. I mean, they've nearly ruined their sport. Been to hell and back with this thing and the guys insist upon continuing.

 

But what the hell, it's their bodies, if they don't care enough about themselves to stop this, I'm sure as hell not going to. I'm a cyclist (used to race, now just do fast group rides and centuries) but not an avid fan of the sport from a spectator's standpoint. I never had any aspirations of making the highest levels of the sport, so never came anywhere near having to confront this on a personal level. I enjoy watching the Tour de France when it's on, but don't have enough of an emotional investment to feel personally cheated by the fact that these guys are doping.

 

I suppose I can still enjoy the competition and drama and, frankly, hope that each and every one of them is doping so at least the playing field is level. Would I prefer that it be clean? Absolutely. But it's their sport, not mine. Neither me or any of the friends I ride with associate ourselves in any way with these guys. We just ride.

[cre8tiff]

At this point Landis has a tremendous axe to grind and wants retribution. His assertions need to be taken with a grain of salt the size of the Enterprise.

[Dutch Oven]

At this point Landis has a tremendous axe to grind and wants retribution. His assertions need to be taken with a grain of salt the size of the Enterprise.

 

Him and Jose Canseco

[detlef]

At this point Landis has a tremendous axe to grind and wants retribution. His assertions need to be taken with a grain of salt the size of the Enterprise.

Sort of like Canseco's? I mean, that guy is the biggest vinegar bag out there and he's been basically spot-on with his accusations. If it was just Landis standing out on an island, the only guy ever to be brought up on this and trying to implicate more in the sport, that would be one thing. But every time you turn around, there's another guy getting popped. So, it's more like Landis confirming what a bunch of others have alleged, not so much Landis being the guy to make the initial accusation.

[Yukon Cornelius]

Is this a NASCAR thread??

[Azazello1313]

so, in one breath, he admits that every word out of his mouth for the last several years was a complete lie. but his very next breath he starts pointing the finger elsewhere, specifically at someone he's been beefing with for years. ok, not a lot of credibility there, folks.

 

still, wouldn't surprise me in the least if his accusations are true. but if they are true, he should be able to point to some actual evidence -- something that carries a little more weight than the word of a lying, cheating douschebag with a chip on his shoulder.

[darin3]

still, wouldn't surprise me in the least if his accusations are true. but if they are true, he should be able to point to some actual evidence -- something that carries a little more weight than the word of a lying, cheating douschebag with a chip on his shoulder.

/thread

[SheikYerbuti]

Here's some additional reading on the subject.

[Caveman_Nick]

 

I thought this thread was going to be about debauchery and cheating in the sport of competitive pizza delivery.

[MrTed46]

Here's some additional reading on the subject.

 

[Azazello1313]

the day gets even better for lance

[SEC=UGA]

the day gets even better for lance

 

When you get off the diaper dirt, you just can't compete. Time for the old man to hang up his riding shorts.

[Azazello1313]

When you get off the diaper dirt, you just can't compete. Time for the old man to hang up his riding shorts.

 

umm, he was in the middle of the peloton when a guy near him went down. the wreck reflects nothing other than being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

[SEC=UGA]

umm, he was in the middle of the peloton when a guy near him went down. the wreck reflects nothing other than being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

 

If he were in his prime and on the juice he'd have been two hundred yards ahead. Not just that, but I'm sure the old man's reflexes ain't what they used to be. Why didn't he just bunny hop over the pile and keep riding while shaking his head about the inadequacies of the other riders... Because he is old, washed up, and not on the juice any more.

[millerx]

Ya know, it's more effective to inject drugs than finger them. And I'm shocked that Armstrong let him do that. I hope gloves were worn.

 

 

Also, this didn't happen yesterday for all the cyclist-haters out there. The sport is doing a great job to clean itself up. Yes yes, some guys still cheat, but it's a top-down solution and the teams themselves are buying into the new generation. At least most of the teams.

GO TEAM SLIPSTREAM! (They're based in Boulder )

If they really want to get in the good graces of the average public... stay off the main roads ESPECIALLY DURING RUSH HOUR and stop acting like you're a car.

 

I wanna side swipe ever f'er out there cruising below the speed limit take up road space while I have wait to pass around him, thus at the same time possibly endangering my life while dealing with oncoming traffic.

Edited May 20, 2010 by millerx

[millerx]

try not to be a dick.

that was my point.

[Chavez]

GO TEAM SLIPSTREAM! (They're based in Boulder )

Slipstream still = Garmin, right?

 

HTC-Columbia and Saxobank also have VERY strict doping controls.

[Chavez]

If he were in his prime and on the juice he'd have been two hundred yards ahead. Not just that, but I'm sure the old man's reflexes ain't what they used to be. Why didn't he just bunny hop over the pile and keep riding while shaking his head about the inadequacies of the other riders... Because he is old, washed up, and not on the juice any more.

You DO realize you're talking about a guy who finished 3rd in last year's Tour, right?

 

I'm not exactly one to carry water for Armstrong, but even if he isn't "The Best Cyclist Alive" right now, he's still a factor.