Disgraced Cyclist Claims Lance Armstrong Doped

Floyd Landis names names in his belated confession

What to make of this? Floyd Landis, whose 2006 Tour de France title was stripped after he failed a doping test, has finally admitted he used banned substances and accused seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong of doing the same. Landis says Armstrong not only used performance-enhancing drugs, but also educated Landis about them.

"He and I had lengthy discussions about it on our training rides during which time he also explained to me the evolution of EPO testing and how transfusions were now necessary due to the inconvenience of the new test," Landis writes. Is Armstrong in trouble?

• Landis Is Lying, says Pat McQuaid, president of the International Cycling Union: "I think Landis is in a very sad situation and I feel sorry for the guy because I don't accept anything he says as true. This is a guy who has been condemned in court, who has stood up in court and stated that he never saw any doping in cycling. He's written a book saying he won the Tour de France clean. Where does that leave his credibility? He has an agenda and is obviously out to seek revenge."

• No, Lance Has a Secret, says Greg LeMond, who won the Tour de France in 1986, 1989 and 1990. For years, LeMond has accused Armstrong of taking EPO: "Lance is ready to do anything to keep his secret but I don't know how long he can convince everybody of his innocence... The problem with Lance is that you're either a liar or you're out to destroy cycling."
  

• Get Ready for the Denials, writes Henry Blodget at Business Insider: "We imagine that Landis has now so thoroughly destroyed his credibility that his latest story will be dismissed as quickly as those protestations of innocence. If the new tale is true, this is too bad, because we've always found it bizarre that no one had come out and just ridiculed the idea that cycling was clean and detailed how every one of the top riders had to be drugged to the gills or wouldn't be a top rider (which always seemed the logical truth). Hincapie has already denied the allegations. We suspect Armstrong soon will, too."

• We'll Probably Never Get to the Bottom of This, writes Monte Burke at Forbes: "If someone put a gun to your head and asked you if you think Armstrong has ever taken performance-enhancing drugs, what would you say? My guess is that most people would probably say he did. Yet we have no proof and probably never will."

• Does Cheating Even Matter Any More? Daniel Shanoff at The Sporting Blog assesses the scandal-prone sport: "At this point, the entire sport of cycling is so rife with PED use -- especially in the early part of the decade -- that, on the one hand, it is impossible not to presume that everyone -- everyone -- was doing it. On the other hand, precisely because it was seemingly so widespread (and because cycling is a minor sport, even if its biggest name is a HUGE star), it just doesn't feel like a big deal."

• Either Way, Landis Is Finished   Tony Ortega at The Village Voice writes: "In Europe, cyclists who have finally admitted to doping after being caught tend to be quickly forgiven by the public. That's not going to happen in this case. Landis has damned himself not only with the antics involving his attorneys a few years ago, he's not making any friends by trying to take down his former teammates. We'll never forget what may have been the single greatest day's exploit on a bike on July 20, 2006. But Floyd, at this point, we wish you'd just go away."