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Floyd Landis, stripped of his 2006 Tour de France title for doping, is giving up on a return to professional cycling, the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency said. “He sent USADA his retirement notification yesterday,” agency spokeswoman Erin Hannan said in an e-mail. Landis’s decision was reported earlier today by ESPN.com. The 35-year-old told the website he’d spent five years trying for a comeback but his efforts are “causing more stress than is worth it.” He raced a “handful of times” as an unaffiliated rider last year, ESPN.com said.
In May, Landis sent e-mails to cycling officials accusing Lance Armstrong and other former teammates on the U.S. Postal Service team of doping. Armstrong, 39, has denied the allegations, saying Landis has “zero” credibility. Jeff Novitzky, a special agent for the Food and Drug Administration, is investigating doping in U.S. cycling in conjunction with the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Landis told ESPN.com he was “relatively sure this sport cannot be fixed.” He didn’t reply to an e-mail from Bloomberg News seeking comment.
Enrico Carpani, a spokesman for cycling ruling body Union Cycliste Internationale, said it rejected Landis’s allegations there is systemic corruption in the sport. “Mr. Landis is not the right person to express an opinion about cycling after all the damage he caused,” Carpani said by telephone. “We don’t accept his judgment.” Landis spent more than $1 million on legal fees fighting his Tour de France disqualification, about half of which was paid through donations. He also served a two-year ban.
I've long argued that Floyd may be a strong athlete, but he lacks a little, ahem, brain power. Case in point: he published a book entitled, "Absolutely False" denying he doped only to admit he did indeed dope throughout his career. As media attention turned nasty, Landis's defence seemed to be, "Lance Armstrong was an even bigger junkie than me."
It is a sorry end for an incredible athlete. Next stop: celebrity Apprentice, Survivor, or the Amazing Race. I can just see Donald Trump in the boardroom for episode one, "Floyd, you're fired!"
Spyns is an active travel company based in Whister, BC (Canada) and Beaujolais France. Spyns specializes in 2011 Tour de France packages for both riders and non-riders. We specialize in providing clients with Tour de France bike and non-biking packages with Paris grandstand seats and VIP access. Spyns offers active holidays to Europe including trips to the 2011 Tour de France. For more information about Spyns 2011 Tour de France tours, please go to http://www.tdf-tours.com/ or http://www.spyns.com/. You can also call us toll-free at 1.888.825.4720.
