It’s the offseason for cyclists in the northern hemisphere, so what’s a pro to do? For the next week or so, Floyd Landis will racing at the Tour of Southland down in New Zealand. With two stages of the 9-stage race complete, Landis (who got a special dispensation from his current employer, Team OUCH, to race for local squad Cyclingnzshop.com – Bio Sport) is sitting in 33rd position on Stage 2 at 2 minutes 32 seconds behind stage winner Jack Bauer of Share The Road, according to the official results listed on the race’s web site.
For US cycling fans, Landis is not the only familiar name among the event’s participant. The Bissell Pro Cycling Team is well represented among the teams racing in New Zealand. Bissell’s Jeremy Vennell was 5th at 31 seconds behind the Bauer, with Ben Jacques-Maynes close behind in 7th at 42 seconds off the pace. Vennell and Jacques-Maynes teammate Peter Latham came in 15th, at 1 minute 4 seconds back. Heath Blackgrove, a US-based Kiwi racing for Zookeepers-Cycle Surgery currently leads the race’s general classification.
Contributing editor strbuk will be providing more updates about the Tour of Southland over the coming days, as time permits.
End of the Dream?
The past is gone,
It went by, like dusk till dawn
Isn’t that the way?
Everybody’s got their dues in life to pay– Aerosmith, “Dream On”
One of the hardest things in life is to give up on one’s dreams. At some point, we’ve all had dreams about what we’d like to be or what we’d like to do in our lives. Sometimes they work out, sometimes we find newer, better dreams to chase, and sometimes the dreams we’re chasing after are out of our reach. In an interview with The New Zealand Herald published a couple of days ago, Floyd Landis concedes that racing again in the Tour de France is a dream that’s unlikely to come true. And, given his comments in the article, it sounds like he’s accepted that possibility. Landis told the Herald’s Michael Brown shortly after arriving in New Zealand:
“I don’t think it’s a possibility next year, or ever, for that matter,” [Floyd Landis] says as he sips his coffee just hours after arriving in New Zealand.
“I can’t foresee what the politics in cycling will possibly lead to but the organisations in control are not working well together. There are people caught in the crossfire and I happen to be one of them, so I don’t know if the opportunity will come up again. I would like to. But it’s very sensitive.”
Unfortunately, as Landis point out, it seems unlikely any Tour-level team would hire him to do the grandest of the Grand Tours, given how the Tour organizers and the UCI often seem to use cyclists and various teams as pawns in a larger game. Not many teams would be willing to take the risk of bringing on a rider whose presence might cause problems for their participation in the event.
Brown’s article covers much more ground than just Landis’ participation at the Tour of Southland or whether he will one day race again on the roads of France. When you’ve got a few moments, take the time to read the Herald’s interview. It’s among the most balanced and well-written articles about Landis as you’re likely to find anywhere.
Rumour, hearsay and innuendo
A while back, the rumour was that Floyd Landis would move over to the Rock Racing squad for the 2010 season, as the team looks to move into the bigger leagues of professional cycling. That move has yet to be confirmed, and one source of mine heard directly from Rock Racing that Landis has not yet signed a contract to race with the Pirates of the Peloton next year. No word yet on when an announcement will be made.
And speaking of rumours, it’s time to play …
Six Degrees of Floyd Landis
… the new game, patterned after [[Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon]]. Up until a day or two ago, word had it that current World Champion Cadel Evans might be moving to either the Garmin-Chipotle or BMC Racing Team for next year. As Cyclingnews.com reports, it turns out that Evans will be working for the team co-owned by Andy Rihs, who once owned a team sponsored by a Swiss hearing aid company called Phonak, which was the cycling team that employed Floyd Landis during his star-crossed 2006 season.
Originally intended to be a feeder team to Phonak, the BMC Racing Team was supposed to be a place where young professional riders could hone their fitness and skills before jumping into the big leagues. That all changed when the Phonak team folded after the 2006 season. Rihs is to be commended for continuing to field a professional cycling team. With the moves that Rihs and co-owner Jim Ochowicz have made in the offseason, it looks as though the squad is being positioned to move up to the ranks of the ProTour in the future. Currently licensed as a Pro Continental squad for 2010, BMC will be eligible to compete in the Grand Tours and other ProTour races, should the organizers invite them to do so.
In another Six Degrees of Floyd, BMC’s directeur sportif is none other than John Lelangue, who used to manage Phonak back when Landis was on the team.
Hey there I like the new look, hope I can figure out how to use it LOL Also in case anyone heard otherwise Floyd was NOT injured during the huge shunt in day one of the Southland (the day was divided into a time trial in the AM and a shortish road race in the PM.) Wind/rain caused havoc and many riders went down hard (including the favorite to win the whole enchilada, Hayden Roulston). Floyd’s bike was well destroyed, but fortunately he was unscathed.
Lots of people suggested that politics would be Floyd’s biggest problem after his suspension. Given the time of year, and the lack of an announcement on where Floyd is going, Floyd’s statement now suggests that he might have been shopping around the past couple of months, and run into exactly that.
It also makes me wonder where he stands with OUCH (soon to be United Healthcare), which seems to have aspirations of racing in Europe for 2011 (even though it’s already a crowded competition among U.S. teams with such aspirations.).
tom
strbuk,
Glad you like the new look. I’m sure you won’t have too much trouble adding new posts. It pretty much works the same as before.
tom,
I may be wrong, but I believe that Floyd’s contract with OUCH is through the end of 2010. Even if he doesn’t get a shot on another team for next year, I think he would be able to come back with the United Healthcare squad for next season. Beyond 2010, that’s a whole other matter. Whether OUCH/UHC needs to fall in line with the prevailing political winds could have some (or a lot) of bearing on his future with his current — or any future — team.
Sorry to say, but Floyd does not appear to be an elite cyclist any longer. Age, artificial hip, the time lost to his suspension … sorry. Maybe 2009 was the year that Floyd raced himself back into world-class condition, and he’ll achieve Tour-worthy results in 2010. I hope so. But for the moment, it’s not just politics that’s keeping him from racing in Paris in July.
I’d always hoped that Floyd would be able to go back to the TdeF and show the world again what a great racer he is. But I see your point, that with politics, this is unlikely. So sad. I will hope for a much better year in 2010 for him, maybe with a higher placing at the T of C or other US races.
Larry,
I kind of suspect that the time off, the hip replacement and just general aging may have affected Floyd’s racing this year, too. But I also wonder if this is part of a longer-term plan to start out slowly, regain his racing form and be ready to compete in the big leagues in 2011. (This is pure speculation, not based on any inside information, by the way.) Why a 2-year plan? To make sure he’s kosher with the ProTour’s additional 2-year “ban,” which we all know only applies when the UCI and the ProTour teams want it to apply (… see Basso, Ivan and others).
But even once Floyd passes the additional 2 year mark and assuming his form is good enough, I suspect that politics will keep him from racing on a ProTour team. It’s a shame, but at this point I believe it’s the reality of how things are.
Debby,
My coach used to say that the training you’re doing this year pays off next year. So with all of the racing and training Floyd did this year, I expect he’ll have a better season in 2010. Exactly how much better, we’ll just have to wait and see.