Landis comes clean on PED use

**JDawg1536** · 05-20-2010, 01:13 AM

Floyd Landis is the cyclist who was interviewed in Bigger, Stronger, Faster.

http://sports.espn.go.com/oly/cyclin...ory?id=5203604

By Bonnie D. Ford
ESPN.com
Archive
Nearly four years after he began waging a costly, draining, and ultimately losing battle to discredit his positive test for synthetic testosterone at the 2006 Tour de France, Floyd Landis told ESPN.com Wednesday that he used performance-enhancing drugs for most of his career as a professional road cyclist, including the race whose title he briefly held.

In a lengthy telephone interview from California, Landis detailed extensive, consistent use of the red blood cell booster erythropoietin (commonly known as EPO), testosterone, human growth hormone and frequent blood transfusions, along with female hormones and a one-time experiment with insulin , during the years that he rode for the U.S. Postal Service and Switzerland-based Phonak teams.

Landis confirmed he sent e-mails to cycling and anti-doping officials over the past few weeks, implicating dozens of other athletes, team management and owners; and officials of the sport's national and international governing bodies. ESPN.com is seeking further evidence and comment from those individuals.

Landis' doping conviction cost him his Tour title, his career, his life savings and his marriage. He said he knows his credibility is in tatters and that many people will choose not to believe him now. He added that he has no documentation for many of the claims he is making about other riders or officials, and that it will be his word against theirs.

However, Landis said he finally decided to come forward because he was suffering psychologically and emotionally from years of deceit, and because he has become a cycling pariah with little to no chance of ever riding for an elite team again. Prior to speaking with ESPN.com, he said he made his most difficult phone call -- to his mother in Pennsylvania to tell her the truth.

"I want to clear my conscience," Landis said. "I don't want to be part of the problem any more."

According to Landis, his first use of performance-enhancing drugs was in June 2002, when he was a member of the U.S. Postal Service team. The World Anti-Doping Agency's statute of limitations for doping offenses is eight years, and Landis said that, too, is part of his motivation for divulging his inflammatory information.

"Now we've come to the point where the statute of limitations on the things I know is going to run out or start to run out next month," Landis said. "If I don't say something now then it's pointless to ever say it."

Landis, who began his career as a top mountain biker, had kept detailed training journals since he was a teenager. He said he continued the same methodical record-keeping once he started using banned drugs and techniques. Landis said he spent as much as $90,000 a year on performance-enhancing drugs and on consultants to help him build a training regime. Landis said he has kept all of his journals and diaries and has offered to share them with U.S. anti-doping authorities in recent meetings. He added that he has given officials detailed information on how athletes are beating drug testing.

Bonnie D. Ford covers tennis and Olympic sports for ESPN.com.

**Noles12** · 05-20-2010, 03:24 AM

Wow thats crazy he came completely clean. I wonder who he threw under the bus

**Immortal Soldier** · 05-20-2010, 03:45 AM

Yeah like anyone was ever gonna believe it what was because you slept in an hyperbolic chamber. Everyone knew you were a liar so you came clean.

Pfftt what a pathetic individual.

**DSM4Life** · 05-20-2010, 04:31 AM

I think people who rat out others just because they got caught are a bunch of @#$@ing a@@holes.

**Noles12** · 05-20-2010, 04:34 AM

Originally Posted by DSM4Life

I think people who rat out others just because they got caught are a bunch of @#$@ing a@@holes.

I completely agree. If you are the one that gets caught man up and take what you get. Dont bring down others because they were smart enough to not get caught

**cobra305** · 05-20-2010, 05:33 AM

The reason he dropped the dime on others is probably so he can get a book deal or something of that nature to regain some of his money he lost fighting the lie he lived. I am sure Lance Armstrong will be in the mix somewhere.

**Narkissos** · 05-20-2010, 07:44 AM

What a whiny b*tch.

**MaNiCC** · 05-20-2010, 07:47 AM

Thats stunned me. what a cvnt

**toothache** · 05-20-2010, 08:40 AM

Originally Posted by DSM4Life

I think people who rat out others just because they got caught are a bunch of @#$@ing a@@holes.

I could not agree more. Narcs suck!

**jbran23** · 05-20-2010, 10:13 AM

Excerpt from the Yahoo article:

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.

**jbran23** · 05-20-2010, 10:15 AM

double post

**Immortal Soldier** · 05-21-2010, 12:21 AM

Bull**** he is making this stuff up to get his book to sell more. Everyone and there mom has accused Armstrong of doping including the doping agency because they hate seeing American win so many times.

Yet Armstrong probably has gotten tested more times than any other cyclist and passed every single one of them. So if Armstrong does blood doping don't you think it would show up in the times they tested in including during the race?

Seriously, Landis is fraud out for money. Armstrong doesn't have testicles so he is already at a disadvantage (I mean is he allowed to use HRT or is that against the rules?) Sometime in the frame he won 6 straight titles he would have tested postive or something would ahve shown up in the bloodwork yet nothing did.

Until I get solid proof, I will not believe Lance armstrong ever doped. This isn't Canseco accusing A-Rod, this is a fraud looking for money accusing someone who has been accused a million times...real original.

**JScondition** · 05-21-2010, 10:13 AM

Originally Posted by Immortal Soldier

Until I get solid proof, I will not believe Lance armstrong ever doped. This isn't Canseco accusing A-Rod, this is a fraud looking for money accusing someone who has been accused a million times...real original.

I think Lance Armstrong used AAS, just not while he was winning. If you look at him before cancer he was pretty jacked. I know you can expect to lose weight going through chemo, but he was just not the right body type before cancer to be winning cycle comps.

**gixxerboy1** · 05-21-2010, 10:34 AM

Originally Posted by cobra305

The reason he dropped the dime on others is probably so he can get a book deal or something of that nature to regain some of his money he lost fighting the lie he lived. I am sure Lance Armstrong will be in the mix somewhere.

i agree. he is rating for personal gain

**bigpapabuff** · 05-21-2010, 12:16 PM

most everyone is that sport is dirty, it doesn't even matter, because if they all take then its still a level playing field.

**JDawg1536** · 05-21-2010, 12:25 PM

Originally Posted by bigpapabuff

most everyone is that sport is dirty, it doesn't even matter, because if they all take then its still a level playing field.

In my mind it's more a guilty until proven innocent situation in all professional sports. If you're clean, you won't make it to the top.

**Dukkit** · 05-21-2010, 12:47 PM

theyre all dirty

so theyre all my hero's

cuz straight edge sports stars suck!!

**JScondition** · 05-21-2010, 01:18 PM

Originally Posted by dukkitdalaw

theyre all dirty

so theyre all my hero's

cuz straight edge sports stars suck!!

agreed

**AlphaMaleDawg** · 05-21-2010, 02:51 PM

I will bet Lance Armstrong's other testicle that he has used banned substances in the past. Not that there is anything wrong with that since cycling is known to be the dirtiest sport out there

**Noles12** · 05-21-2010, 02:55 PM

I think Lance should be banned because he only has one nut to crush on the seat giving him an advantage over the rest of the field

**jbran23** · 05-21-2010, 04:00 PM

Originally Posted by Noles12

I think Lance should be banned because he only has one nut to crush on the seat giving him an advantage over the rest of the field

LOL good point.

**Hoggage_54** · 05-21-2010, 09:37 PM

No surprise any of them did it

**tupollo** · 05-26-2010, 03:34 AM

im interested in his journals to see exactly what he was using and how he was incorporating it into his routine.im assuming cyclists need to be lean and have lots of endurance as opposed to say the bodylifter or powerlifter.oh and hes a dunce.

there is so much wrong with this story but if i may point out the obvious.
from the article:
"I want to clear my conscience," Landis said. "I don't want to be part of the problem any more." if you thought it was wrong then why did you do it in the first place? do you think coming clean some how absolves you of some imaginary wrong that even you didn't care enough to stop until you got caught you lowly rat fink worm?