The Day After

Here in Wisconsin, near that big lake named for the state to the east, we have a sunny, warm (promising to be scorching) day, the wind is strong, bending the tops of the trees with each gust. Today’s lunchtime bike ride is going to be a killer, if the wind doesn’t die down. It’ll be a good workout, one way or the other.

Maybe Floyd Landis will hit the road on his bike today, too. If he does, I’m guessing it will be a well-deserved respite from the turmoil of the last 10 months. Whatever the case, out in California life goes on for Floyd Landis.

His arbitration hearings over, the final parts of this chapter will be written in due course. Sometime in the next couple of months, the arbitrators will render their decision. Whatever happens, life goes on for all of us. For Landis, the direction his future will take depends on the votes of three men — Patrice Brunet, Christopher Campbell and Richard McLaren.

But any way you slice it, that future is not what it should have been for the 2006 Tour de France champion. He’s been robbed of the celebration and the accolades normally due someone who’s achieved so much. The arbitrators will decide whether they think he did it to himself, or whether a lab and system run amok are responsible. Whatever the arbitrators decide, the court of public opinion has not been kind. Especially given the revelations of one week ago, today.

The reality is that few people’s minds were changed by the hearings. Those who came in believing in Floyd still believe in him. Those who were rabidly against him still feel that way. And those who were sitting on the fence may have tilted one way or the other. But most people, the ones who didn’t follow the case, the ones who saw the tabloid-style stories from last week, they think less of Landis due to guilt by association.

Close association, unfortunately. Let’s be clear: What happened to Greg LeMond when he was eleven is something that no one should experience. And no one should try to exploit such things. So what Will Geoghegan admitted and apologized for last week was a phenomenal lapse in judgment. It should never have happened.

If you ask the average person what they know about Floyd Landis, most will likely cite the LeMond incident. They haven’t heard about the rest of the case, because the media likes a good salacious story. Salacious stories sell.

Someday in the near future, the arbitrators will announce their decision. No matter which way it goes, most people will only hear about it in passing. And it may not even be the end of the case. If Landis wins, USADA, WADA or the UCI will no doubt appeal. If he loses, well, that’s hard to say. Whether he appeals or not will be determined by whether he can afford to.

Win or lose, what the Landis case has done is shine a bright light on the anti-doping system. An insular world where one lab is not supposed to criticize another lab. And where the rules are stacked so thoroughly against the athlete that once accused, they’re often better off admitting to something they didn’t do rather than experience the financial ruin of challenging the system.

The damage done by Will Geoghegan’s ill-advised phone call last week will be hard to overcome. Landis, who has become a recognizable advocate for fair play in the anti-doping system, may not be able to continue his work in that regard. If that’s the case, it will be a shame, because the sports world needs someone to stand up and demand that the enforcers of fair play play fair.

Floyd Landis deserved better than what has been heaped upon him the last 10 months. He deserved the picture on the Wheaties box. The sponsorships. The glory. What he’s gotten instead has been a lot of pain and heartache. And through it all, he finds a way to smile and carry on. Talk about grace under pressure. The man defines it.

I have more analysis of the hearings yet to write, but for the moment, I’m going to head out into the heat and wind and just ride.