NYVelocity: McQuaid and Verbruggen put Landis on notice

NYVelocity reports that Floyd Landis has received a letter from a lawyer representing UCI president Pat McQuaid and former president Hein Verbruggen, telling the retired racer to retract statements he’s made against them within 15 days. If he doesn’t, the letter says, the pair will file suit in a Swiss court “to defend their honor.” In an interview with a German TV station, and elsewhere, Landis has charged the UCI covered up positive doping tests from favored riders.

I have to say I do not understand those who come to Flandis’ defence. The guy didn’t just utter a small insignificant lie. As Fatty so eloquently points out above – he lived a great big stinking lie and when caught out kept on lying and when he finally admitted to being a liar he still keeps on lying.

I am a huge fan of Lance but understand why many suspect him of doping. That said, I don’t understand the attacks on Livestrong which has done so much good.

Fatty – you are on my bucket list. One day we are going to catch up and have a few beers and maybe a nice dinner with our better halves – don’t know when as it is a long way between Colorado and Western Australia but hopefully it will happen. If things worked out really well we could have a ride together.

Hope you and the family are on the mend.

It’s great to see you with a strong POV on a relevant and timely issue that goes beyond the funny and whimsical posts we have come to love. While many have disagreed with your posts, I think this is great as it opens up the dialogue and engenders more conversation.

With the prospect of Contador being banned and not riding the TDF this year, I was really looking forward to seeing Ricardo Ricco challenge some of the GC contenders (Schlecks, Basso, Evans, etc.) It shocking to see the recent development of his self-inflicted doping efforts. Sure Ricco’s a “special” one, but the fact that he would come out of suspension and return to doping so quickly underlines the pressure cyclists feel to perform. Until there’s a zero tolerance policy (lifetime ban) we will continue to see riders trying to fool the system.

In many ways I’ve been turned off to the pro peleton. I looked at Tyler Hamilton as a hero in the sport and his effort in 2003 will forever be something I admire. On the downside the fact that he wasn’t clean crushed my image of him (although I will always be sentimental to his dog tugboat). As in life, I can only admire those who try their best with what they have and if they fail it’s better than winning as a cheat.

Hope all is well in “happy valley”…oh how I miss Utah.
J

You’re right. From now on, everyone’s guilty of everything anyone suspects them of. – FC

Just to advise you, Fatty, that while being found “not guilty” = “innocent” in the eyes of the law, it isn’t necessarily the same thing in the real world.

-”BB”-

credibility: granted floyd lost a lot of credibility with his antics over the years, so the claims he makes in the kimmage interview must be taken with a grain of salt. However, given that one of the claims is in fact true (treatment by UCI over salary guarantee), you have to wonder how many others are based on fact.

treatment by UCI: salary issue not withstanding, his treatment by the UCI is different than others. His positive dope test at the 2006 tour occurred within days, while they waited a full two months for Contador

repeat behaviour: his position that he would do it all the same and just admit it later is based on the treatment others have receive. Those who’ve tested positive and came clean are much more likely to be welcomed back (millar, vino, ricco) than those who claimed otherwise (landis, hamilton, etc).

…& i think he’s stripped it all down & is absolutely stone cold honest at this point in time…

…yes this collaboration plays into kimmages need to vindicate his own self & the stance he’s always held but i don’t think it in any way lessens landis’s finally coming clean…

…i used to hate kimmage because i felt he was just pissing on the sport side of the activity i’ve loved & been a part of for over 40 years but nowadays, there is corroboration from plenty of sources to verify so many of floyd’s accusations…

…& with so many young talented riders coming into the sport who have an attitude of doing this correctly & cleanly, i want to see them get the chance…

…i doubt (unfortunately) that the novitzky’s, kimmages & landis’s will blow the doors off the situation but if it leads to a cleaner sport of bicycle racing, i say let the chips fall where they may…

…& i’d love to see lance armstrong come clean but either way i’m still & will always be a fan…drugs don’t turn plow horses into thoroughbreds & any way you view it, 7 tour wins is phenomenal…

…lance helped popularize the sport…i think he now has a chance to actually help it but i doubt that day is coming any time soon…

…mores the shame…

I can’t see that one interview is – or should be – enough to convince a person definitively of someone’s guilt or innocence. This is in general, I’m not directing this to anyone in particular.

What is interesting is that other respected journalists (yes, Kimmage is a respected journalist) have indicated that Floyd is not alone in what he’s alleging. Juliet Macur of the New York Times has stated that others have corroborated Floyd’s accusations. The video in which she appears is here: http://nos.nl/video/210777-lance-armstrong-gebruikte-doping.html