Biker In Desperate Need of Attention

Today my beef is with Floyd Landis, the former 2006 Tour de France winner.

I say former, because Landis' title was stripped after he tested positive for illegal amounts of testosterone. Landis finally admitted to using performance enhancing drugs yesterday, after claiming his innocence for four straight years, and even writing an autobiography, Positively False, repeatedly saying he didn't use PEDs. And not only did he bring himself down, he brought his former teammates down with him, including Lance Armstrong.

Armstrong, who won 7 straight Tour de France titles from 1999 - 2005, has never failed a drug test even though, Floyd Landis is about the 100th guy to accuse Armstrong of using steroids; it's important to note that all of these accusations have been proven incorrect.

My guess: Landis is just an athlete in desperate need of attention, a guy who is just looking for another book deal, and sadly if he does write another book, he'll probably lie again as well. He also can't be trusted; when he was stripped of his Tour de France title, not only did he deny allegations of doping, he wrote a book about it and he even took it to court, launching a huge legal battle in order to regain his title.

On top of Landis' lack of credibility is his lack of evidence.

International Olympic Committee president Jacques Rogge stated today that Landis "has to bring proof that this is true. These are accusations that need to be corroborated by proof."

For some reason, people just want to take down other people whenever they themselves fall, as if to justify their own wrongdoing. In Landis' book he claimed to being tested constantly, so if that part of the book is actually true, then it would be tough to accuse Armstrong or any other rider of doping if they haven't failed a drug test. Although cycling has been a sport known for its rampant steroid use in the past, this previous identity have only strengthened restrictions on doping and expanded testing, making cycling arguably the most aggressive sport in terms of testing.

But then there is what Jay Mariotti said yesterday on Around the Horn. Mariotti compared Landis with Jose Canseco, who everyone originally thought was crazy for his accusations stating that there was widespread steroid use throughout baseball. I hate to think that Armstrong used PEDs, not only because of he's an American with 7 Tour de France titles, but also because of his great story: coming back from cancer to win all of those titles. I hate even more to have to agree with anything that comes out of Mariotti's mouth. But when someone puts their reputation on the line, especially when it's for the second time, it is tempting to believe them. We can only hope Landis isn't telling the truth like Canseco was.

Landis is throwing himself under the bus and taking everyone with him. Whether his accusations end up being true or false, is still to be seen but a few things are certain: Floyd Landis has zero credibility, he has zero evidence and he has betrayed the trust of his teammates. Whether Armstrong is guilty or not, Landis is a snitch and has become cycling's Judas. He broke the camaraderie and trust that comes with being a teammate. Maybe he is just running low on cash, maybe he just has a guilty conscience, and needs to get everything out, or maybe he just loves being in the limelight. One thing is for sure: he has lied before, and due to his history, we can assume that he is most likely lying again.