More quotes from Floyd Landis’ book signing at the Borders Bookstore in Wheaton, IL.
On Phonak
One of the audience members asked Floyd about how he felt about Phonak letting him go last year, after his positive test. Landis replied that he understood that what the team did was best for the rest of the riders. If Phonak had kept him and vigorously fought the charges against him, that might have jeopardized the possibilities for the other riders when it came to finding a new team for 2007.
Rant’s Aside: Phonak decided before last year’s Tour that they would not be continuing as the title sponsor following the 2006 season. iShares, a division of Barclays Bank, had agreed to pick up title sponsorship in 2007, but ultimately decided not to do so. It’s wrong to say that Phonak pulled the plug because of the Landis scandal. The decision to do so had been made even before the Tour, and before the disputed doping test of Stage 17.
Similarly, Discovery Channel sponsoring the former U.S. Postal Service team was a pet project of the previous CEO. When CEOs change, pet projects tend to fall by the wayside. Which is exactly what happened when the new CEO took charge. Discovery’s decision to terminate sponsorship of the team has as much — or more — to do with that than the ongoing doping scandals in cycling do.
Back to Landis: Floyd also said that Andy Rihs, the owner of the Phonak team, has been a big supporter. This despite the test results from Stage 17. Even though Rihs had to let Landis go, he’s helped Floyd quite a bit since then.
Advice For Young Riders
Ride. A lot. Take advantage of the fact that you don’t tire out as easily. That said, don’t ride so much that it becomes a chore and you’re not having fun. The most important thing is to be able to get out on the bike and enjoy riding.
On Mountain Biking
Another question for Landis had to do with mountain biking and whether he still finds time to ride off road. Speaking about his experience in Vail, Landis said, “It’s not so easy.” But he still finds time to get out for an occasional off road ride with some of his friends, and he’s planning on racing the Leadville 100 on August 11th (just over a month from now).
Probably a good idea to head up to Aspen or Leadville after the book tour is over for some “reconnaisance”/training rides. There’s a couple rides I could recommend. Guaranteed to whip those lungs into shape for an extended effort like Leadville, and a whole lot of fun, too.
On Cycling’s “Culture of Doping”
One of the last questions asked of Landis during the book signing was given the culture of doping in cycling, was there any animosity between the clean riders and those who dope? Landis answered by saying that the picture portayed in the media is not what things are like in the pro peloton. The problem of doping is probably not as widespread as the media portrays. And while there are individuals who dope, it’s not talked about so openly, and it’s not so clear who is or isn’t a clean rider.
From The Naperville Sun:
“Part of the problem is that it’s not quite as obvious as the press would like to make it,” he said. “Certainly if it was as clear as it appears to be that there was a culture of (doping), then the clean riders, whomever you might identify them as being, would be more upset about it. Apart from just telling you and hoping you take my word for it (because) I don’t have any way of proving it, there are far more clean riders out there who deserve more credit and aren’t getting it.”
According to The Naperville Sun’s report, at least one person in the crowd thinks that it’s the cyclists who downplay the prevalence of doping in the sport.
On Future Prospects
Landis said that he’s had no discussions with any teams about a contract in the future. A lot depends on when he will be able to race again, and that won’t be known until the arbitration decision is released. If things go well with the arbitration decision, Landis hopes to be racing again in 2008.
On An Appeal
Would Landis appeal the arbitration decision to the Court of Arbitration for Sport if the panel that heard his case at Pepperdine University decides against him? That depends, Landis said, on what the reasoning behind the decision is more than anything else. But, at the same time, he doesn’t know — given the evidence presented during the hearings — what grounds the panel might have for making a determination against him. We’ll have to wait and see.
As Mark Zalewski reports in today’s CyclingNews:
Of course, people wanted to know when the decision was going to come down, and if it is against him, if he will appeal. “My lawyers have not heard anything,” he said. “There is no real timeline except for a ten day minimum after the hearing closes. It depends on what the ruling says. I really believe there is very little chance I would not appeal it. I don’t know what they could possibly write that would convict me. But if they say ‘we just don’t like the guy’, then it is going to be hard to appeal that!”
“I hope it is soon, but I also hope it doesn’t take away from the guys who are racing this year. They deserve more credit than they are getting.”
Another person asked who could appeal if the decision goes in Landis’ favor. “USADA, WADA, UCI, maybe even USA Cycling. Heck, I think anyone can file an appeal.” His comment got a good laugh from the crowd.
Final Note: I’ll post pictures from the book signing just as soon as a minor technical glitch at my ISP gets ironed out. I’m hoping that will be later today.
Rant,
I was thinking about the Culture of Doping in cycling and as Floyd pointed out, that it might be a media generated image rather than a fact. I was initially opposed to the signing of the UCI pledge but now that all 189 riders have signed, it can indicate a couple of things. 1 There are a whole lot of clean riders out there and the media gererated the whole doping thing, or 2 there are a whole lot of liars out there and they have pulled the wool over the eyes of the UCI. I would like to think that it is 1 and that there are a lot more clean riders out there then we are being led to believe. If it is 1 then that bodes well for FL. Why wouldn’t he be as clean as the other 188 in the peloton. He would have signed the pledge. It would be an interesting to hear his answer to that question.
Rant,
Thanks for the coverage of Floyd’s book signing. I’m going to pick a little nit, because I think you downplay the role that the Landis situation played in the end of the Phonak team.
It’s really easy to confuse a cycling team with its sponsor — that’s why the sponsor is willing to spend all that money. But Phonak didn’t hold a license with the UCI, just as CSC, Discovery Channel, etc., don’t hold UCI licenses. There’s a small corporation, often owned or partly owned by the team’s manager, that holds the racing license, signs contracts with riders, and seeks sponsors to help them defray the costs of competition.
So the Liberty Seguros team linked back to ONCE because they were both run by Active Bay Cycling, just as Discovery Channel links back to US Postal, because both have been owned by Tailwind Sports. Phonak’s case is unusual because Rihs Cycling, the license-holder for team, was owned by Andy Rihs, the Chairman of the Board of Phonak, the hearing-aid company. Rihs planned to eliminate Phonak’s sponsorship after ’06, but also planned to continue the team, and had lined up iShares to take over, as you mention.
They announced the deal in June 2006. In August, after Landis’ controversial urine test and contested Tour win, Rihs announced that iShares had backed out of the deal. Immediately after the Tour, “sponsors were queueing up to join us” for ’07 (source: Samuel Abt article here), while in August, Rihs “had been unable to find another sponsor even at the token price of one Swiss franc, or 80 cents.”
This led him to close down Rihs Cycling, the license-holder, and to release the riders from their contracts.
So while it’s technically correct that Phonak had decided to end its sponsorship after the ’06 season, it’s also quite true that Phonak team management decided to “pull the plug because of the Landis scandal.” If there had been no doping cases involving anyone riding for Phonak last season, Rihs Cycling would be fielding a ProTour team this season.
Frank,
That’s a fair thing to point out. Thanks for the nitpicking.
– Rant