There should be plenty of commentary today on Floyd Landis's doping conviction, which has now officially stripped him of the 2006 Tour de France title.
Writes the Canadian Press: "The long and winding road that Floyd Landis pedaled out of Mennonite country and onto the wide boulevard of the Champs-ElysDees hit a dead end Thursday, when an arbitration panel overlooked some sloppy labwork and upheld a doping conviction that stripped the Tour de France winner of his title."
But what do Crankset readers have to say? Let us hear from you!
In one sense, I'm glad it's over. Professional cycling needs to have this controversy behind it. However, I'm hardly convinced that Floyd Landis will be the last cyclist to test positive or that this will be the last time we have a doping scandal in cycling. And that, perhaps, is the larger tragedy beyond the personal tragedy that is now Floyd Landis: The lack of confidence that fans will continue to have in the sport.
What will it take to change the perception of cycling? Oh, we'll forget about it during the next race, for the most part. But it will always be there. We'll always wonder -- at least until the science of the sport overtakes the men on the bikes, some of whom will always seek an unfair advantage to make up what their physiology and character didn't grant them: a big enough heart.
ALSO:
-- MSNBC's Mike Celizic: Sometimes Cheaters Don't Prosper
-- Canadian Press: Good Guy Landis Made a Bad Choice
-- Cycling News: Landis's Appeal Denied, two year suspension levied
-- Michael Hiltzik of the LATimes: Landis Loses Arbitration Ruling
-- Amy Shipley of the Washington Post: Panel Rules Against Landis
-- Juliet Macur of the NYTimes: Landis's Positive Doping Test Upheld
No Responses to “It’s Officially Bad Boy Floyd Now” Leave a reply ›