Floyd Landis
 |
|
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Full name | Floyd Landis |
| Born |
October 14, 1975 Farmersville, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Height | 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in) |
| Weight | 68 kg (150 lb; 10.7 st) |
| Team information | |
| Current team | Retired |
| Discipline | Road |
| Role | Rider |
| Rider type | All-rounder |
| Professional team(s) | |
| 1999–2001 | Mercury |
| 2002–2004 | U.S. Postal Service |
| 2005–2006 | Phonak |
| 2009 | OUCH–Maxxis |
| 2010 | Bahati Foundation |
| Major wins | |
|
Paris–Nice (2006) Tour de Georgia (2006) Tour of California (2006) |
|
Floyd Landis (born October 14, 1975) is an American former professional road racing cyclist. Landis at first appeared to be the winner of the 2006 Tour de France, before testing positive for performance-enhancing drugs. The competition was ultimately won by Óscar Pereiro. Landis was an all-around rider, with special skills in climbing, time-trialing, and descending. Landis turned professional in 1999 with the Mercury Cycling Team. He joined the U.S. Postal Service team in 2002, and moved to the Phonak Hearing Systems team in 2005. In January 2010, a French judge issued a national arrest warrant for Landis on computer hacking charges related to the 2006 doping allegations.
Until 2010, Landis maintained his innocence and mounted a defense. Although Landis' legal team documented inconsistencies in the handling and evaluation of his urine samples, the disqualification was upheld. On May 20, 2010, after almost four years of contesting the allegations, Landis admitted to continual doping, and revealed that Lance Armstrong and many other top riders who rode on his team doped as well. He was suspended from professional competition through January 30, 2009, following an arbitration panel's 2-to-1 ruling on September 20, 2007. Landis appealed the result of the arbitration hearing to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, which subsequently upheld the panel's ruling. In January 2011, Landis was unable to find a new team, which effectively ended his professional career.
Floyd Landis is the second child and oldest son of Paul and Arlene Landis. His childhood home is in the village of Farmersville in West Earl Township, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. He graduated from Conestoga Valley High School in Lancaster, Pennsylvania in 1994. He was raised in a devout Mennonite family and community. Landis used his first bike to ride while out fishing with his best friend but quickly learned to enjoy riding for its own sake. At one point, he became determined to ride in a local race. Landis showed up wearing sweatpants because his religion forbade wearing shorts. He won that race, and more wins followed as Landis continued to enjoy the sport.
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