Disgraced Landis backed in doping row

LOS ANGELES: Greg Lemond, the first American to win the Tour de France, believes “most of Floyd Landis’s statements” charging systematic doping in cycling.

“I imagine from my own experiences that today he is paying a heavy price for his honesty and I support him in his attempt to free himself from his past,” the 48-year-old Lemond said on his website after Landis, despite years of denials, admitted doping throughout his career.

Landis, who was stripped of his 2006 Tour de France title after a positive drug test, did more than confess this week, however. He also pointed the finger at numerous other cyclists, including seven-time Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong, and said that doping was intrinsic at the elite level of the sport. Armstrong and others in cycling have been quick to attack Landis’ credibility, as has the International Cycling Union. But Lemond, who has long been a critic of Armstrong, said Landis’ claims should not be dismissed completely.

“ Landis is simply representative of many in the sport. The sport needs to change its governance and its culture to survive long term.”

Published in the Express Tribune, May 23rd, 2010.