Lancaster County native Floyd Landis is back in the spotlight this week - a week before his two-year ban from professional bicycle racing is due to end.
An illustration of Landis is on the cover of Velonews which hit newstands and mailboxes on Thursday (and not yet available on their website.) An article about his return is inside. An article about him was published on USA Today’s website on Thursday. The news was picked up by the Associated Press later Thursday and published in this morning’s Intelligencer Journal.
Former teammate Lance Armstrong, in the midst of his own comeback in the Australian Tour Down Under, commented to Aussie reporters about Landis.
“Let’s forgive and forget and get on down the road,” Armstrong said of Landis’ return to racing, to a reporter from the Melbourne Herald Sun. Armstrong called Landis ”a friend of mine.”
Landis, who helped Armstrong win the Tour de France three times as part of the U.S. Postal Service team, went on to win the Tour in 2006, the first winner after an unprecedented seven consecutive wins by Armstrong. Landis was stripped of that title and banned from the sport by arbiters who determined he had used artificial testosterone to boost his performance during the race. Landis has always maintained his innocence. He mounted a vigorous and public defense at the national and international levels. He presented extensive evidence of sloppy lab work that he contended led to the test result.
“You’ve got to remember that Floyd might have been found guilty but at the end of the trial, if you polled people more than 50 per cent thought he was innocent,” Armstrong told the Herald Sun. “In regard to that, it’s good that he’s back”
In an ABC News - Australia report, Armstrong compared Landis’ return to that of British cyclist David Millar.
“Sometimes I get frustrated with people who criticise his return, and then they stand up and cheer when David Millar returns. It’s the same thing. You serve your suspension, get back on the bike,” said Armstrong.
Millar was widely applauded for admitting to using the banned blood booster EPO (erythropoietin) and is now regarded as a symbol of the sport’s fight against the drugs cheats.
“People serve their time, and when their time is up they get to go back to work,” Armstrong said.
Landis is due to get back to work in the coming week when he will attend a training camp for his new team, OUCH presented by Maxxis. The new domestic professional team built from the remnants of the former HealthNet squad, is being supported by Landis’ physician, Dr. Brett Kay.
Landis and Armstrong are expected to be at the start line of the Tour of California on Feb. 14. It will be Landis’ first professional road race in two and a half years and the first time he has raced against Armstrong since the 2005 Tour de France.
