Floyd Landis IS BACK!

[John the Monkey]

http://www.bikeradar.com/news/article/floyd-landis-set-to-race-with-health-net-maxxis-in-2009-18477

Defrocked 2006 Tour de France winner Floyd Landis, 32, will make his return to professional cycling after a two-year suspension with the team currently sponsored by Health Net-Maxxis, under a new title sponsor for 2009, sources confirmed with Cyclingnews.

Blimey.

 

[Keith Oates]

Unbelievable!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Mr Phoebus]

Blimey! Who's next? Adrian Chiles?

Come on Mr Clarkson, you know you want to.

 

[maurice]

Excellent stuff, it's all happening now

 

[mondobongo]

Excellent stuff, it's all happening now

Explain to me in more than one sentence why a confirmed cheat who did a lot of damage to the credibilty of a blue riband event is excellent.

 

[papercorn2000]

Is there any truth in the rumours that Jaques Anquetil will be making a comeback next season?

 

[maurice]

Sentence One - It's sensational, we're going to need some stuff to speculate over through the winter months.

Sentence Two - Great wind-up material for the anti-US Postals. Lance has a rival team domestique in the bag already

 

[mondobongo]

Maurice do you know Ludwig????

 

[maurice]

No

By the rate this is going I wonder If Lance will have announced his Chamois cream supplier by the end of the day!

 

[jonathan ellis]

can he ride the tdf again? Is he banned for life from riding in France?
Will he attempt a "Dwain chambers manoeuvre"?

I imagine the French spectators would hurt him!

ah ignore me - just thought about it
and its au revoir

 

[Kovu]

Ooooooo this is all very good! I like it ... going to make next year's tour interesting I think!

 

[Kovu]

I have said it before, and I'll say it again. If you are caught, or seek to avoid capture by avoiding tests, then you should be out of professional sport for life (in fact all sport, I don't want to be cycling against a drug cheat in a monday evening CATI event). No excuses. I include in that the likes of David Millar, Christine Ohurugu, Tim Don, Dwain Chambers anyone.

Piss off and do something else, I never want to hear your cheating names again

I have argued against this quite alot, because i think it's not as clear cut as what we think sometimes. I admit that some cyclist are totally on thier own when they dope, but some cyclists and atheletes no doubt have been persuaded by other parties and in that case it's not so easy to agree on a life long ban.

 

[fossyant]

And Off the Rocks Racing in the TOB - get 'em out - shady barstewards !

 

[Smokin Joe]

Landis's future is in the US domestic cycling scene. He will never ride a top European race again.

 

[Kovu]

So if this is the case, how on earth do you decide. Does Floyd Landis simply have to say Dr Smith made me do it, but I don't know where he is now? It is utter rubbish to say they have been persuaded. They know what they are doing, there is no debate at all. Unless of course they have been tied up and forcefully injected epo by a gang of masked men each tuesday evening for the last 6 months.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Javier_Sotomayor

But what I am saying is no doubt there has been times when it is not soley on the cyclist, we don't know every knock and bolt of the case (sometimes we do fair enough), but its not as clear cut as people seem to think it is, which is why I think a life long ban is too hard on some atheletes.


Sotomayor had an odd doping record, with claims he was set up, odd results in his drugs tests, it's not so easy to determine what the case is.