• Mailbag

Monday’s Mailbag: Floyd, Floyd, Floyd

by VeloNews.com

• August 07, 2006
• Comments Off

The Mailbag is a regular feature on VeloNews.com. If you have a comment, an opinion or observation regarding anything you have seen in cycling, in VeloNews magazine or on VeloNews.com, write to WebLetters@InsideInc.com. Please include your full name and home town. Letters may be edited for length and clarity.

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The man is innocent!
Dear VeloNews,
Floyd Landis will be exonerated of all doping charges! I can only wonderwhy all the information that was “leaked” before any formal announcementswere made about this debacle was all negative.I still haven’t heard anything about the results of the six tests thatwere made prior to the one damning him for using illegal substances. Whatcontrols were used by the lab in Paris to prevent any contamination ofthe samples? How trustworthy are the employees at that lab? Do they evenwash their hands before performing the tests?There is so much information that needs to be made public before anyonecan form a true opinion about the results of this test. And what aboutthe mental state of the rider? Floyd would have to be crazy to use bannedsubstances knowing that he must be tested after the stage if he was oneof the top finishers.The man is innocent!
Patrick Pattillo
Jacksonville, FloridaThe only positive doping test result from this year’s Tour was thattaken from Floyd Landis after stage 17. All other samples – Landis’s included– did not produce an “adverse analytical finding.” In recent years, theFrench national anti-doping laboratory at Châtenay-Malabry has beencertified by the International Olympic Committee, the World Anti-dopingAgency and the European Union, meeting standards that we suspect includehand washing and other common laboratory practices. – EditorBut why would he do it?
Dear Editor,
I find it interesting that after several doping tests that only onecame up positive. I am no endocrinologist but I find it hard that a drugsuch as testosterone is present one day and not the next. Is our body reallythat efficient at clearing these drugs or is it something fishy?I guess time will tell but it appears when it’s a he-said-she-said argumentthe he (doping officials) are always correct and above manipulation ofsamples while the she (Mr. Landis) could only be a cheat.
Joel Hartwell
Santa Maria, CaliforniaThe last straw?
Editor,
I do not know the number of cyclists and cycling fans whose feelingsabout the sport have changed as much as mine, but I suspect there are many.I have been an avid cyclist since I can remember and have enjoyed followingprofessional road cycling since I first started racing in 1976. Dopinghas always been in the background, but never to the extent
at least publicly as it has been in the last few years. As it has becomemore clear that it is very possible to use performance enhancing drugssafely and without detection (when done correctly) and that pro
cyclists are spending tens of thousands of dollars to get professionalhelp to be sure they are doing it “correctly,” my feelings of concern haveturned to skepticism, and now to disgust and disillusionment.This is the first Tour de France that every time an athlete did unexpectedlywell or poorly, I would wonder what role their IV EPO, Insulin, growthhormone or anabolic steroid played or did they get back the wrong unitof blood or did they get a much needed transfusion of their own storedblood because their blood count had fallen.I do appreciate VeloNews telling both sides of the story andI think they have done an excellent job, but if professional cycling isto get back to its essence and away from what to take when, then all cycling
authorities need to stand up and shout: STOP! TIME OUT!It is time to demand a solution. All things should be considered suchas:Making teams, owners, sponsors, in addition to the cyclists responsible. (How many sponsors would sign on if they could be fined or jailed if their athletes tested positive?)Declare amnesty and bring everyone to the table to solve the problemDo more sting operations such as was done with Dr FuentesCancel all races until a viable solution comes forwardTake our collective wishfully thinking heads out of the sand and admit we have a huge problem.The sport teeters on the brink.
Gregory A Rice MD
Libby MontanaDetecting lies?
Velo,
I salute Mr. Robertson’s somewhat theatrical gesture to allow Floydto reclaim at least a small measure of credibility with cycling fans (see”Californianoffers Landis $100,000 to take polygraph test“).Now that Floyd has understandably “lawyered up” I would be shocked ifhe took Mr. Robertson up on this chance to demonstrate his innocence. Ithink Mr. Robertson is in the same boat as most cycling fans, we wouldlike to know the truth about the accused sooner than later.I must say I’ve come to admire Robert Millar much more and becomemuch less impressed with Ullrich, Basso, and especially Tyler Hamilton.If Landis is guilty, and the proof sure runs that way, he would do thesport a great favor by not protesting his innocence in an empty mannera-la Hamilton.
Michael Andrino
Los Angeles, CaliforniaWhat about the lab?
Editor,
Don’t bother testing Floyd. Offer a million dollars to anyone fromthe French lab who might have concrete proof that Floyd’s samples wereintentionally tainted. The French might have been so upset that anotherAmerican won their little race, that they would stoop to this level.If I were the head of a professional team anymore, I would demand thata lab, other than French origin would be conducting the tests

Or maybe I’m an idiot for trying to believe a cheat. Remember Tyler’sridiculous theory about a ‘Chimera’? Didn’t he ride for Phonak as well?
David Jackson
San Diego, CaliforniaIt was a set-up, I tell ya
Editor,
How do we know that Floyd, and others, weren’t set up? Meaning hisurine sample tampered with or someone slipping something into his IV’sthat he would know nothing about. There is a lot of jealousy and competitivenesseven within teams. How do we know he wasn’t sabotaged?Has this been investigated?
Victoria Tepley
Boulder, ColoradoThe joy is gone
Dear VeloNews.com,
With the news of Floyd Landis’ B-sample coming back positive for increasedlevels of testosterone and exogenous testosterone, I have say “enough.”After racing and riding for 30 years, I think it’s time for me to takecycling out of the Tivo programming. While rampant cheating won’t takeaway my joy of cycling, it has finally soured me on professional racing.
Ian Dickerson
Pittsford, New YorkWhat about that team?
Dear Editor
What a wonderful legacy Team Phonak has left us. As far as doping isconcerned, they have almost reached the pinnacle attained by the Festinateam. The epic stage win by Floyd Landis reminded me of the stage win afew years back by Tyler Hamilton with his broken collarbone. Almost toogood to be true, but I had to admire their exploits …at the time.Now we will have a winner of the Tour De France who was not the strongestrider and this does not happen very often. Oscar Pereiro grabbed his opportunitieswith both hands and rode above himself to retain the yellow jersey as longas possible. The monumental tactical blunders by team managers was thestory of the 2006 Tour along with the usual T-Mobile silliness and the”doper of the moment” headline.

It will be very interesting to see if Pereiro can repeat his great effort in next year’s Tour De France where he will probably be co-team leader with Valverde.Unofficially, Cadel Evans will now become the highest placed Australian to finish the Tour (after the great Phil Anderson finished fifth twice before), but sadly under such disappointing circumstances.
Ian Sharp
Wollongong Australia

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The Mailbag is a regular feature on VeloNews.com. If you have a comment, an opinion or observation regarding anything you have seen in cycling, in VeloNews magazine or on VeloNews.com, write to WebLetters@InsideInc.com. Please include your full name and home town. Letters may be edited for length and clarity.