It's usually bad policy for me to react to something that I'm passionate about before sitting on it and having a think. But that's what is going to happen now, so you've been warned:
I think Floyd Landis is a good person who f'ed up. I believe the content of those emails is truthful and accurate. I think he's probably doing this out of a combination of guilt and unfairness. Guilt because he brought too many good and honest people along with his lies. And the unfairness is that too many other cheaters are getting away with it while leading happy and successful lives. His happiness and success were taken away from him and while that in itself may be fair, it's completely unfair and arbitrary that others of the same ilk or still being worshiped as heroes. So, how can I see him as a good person? Because I can see how the sequence of events could lead to him making the decision to dope. If he had successful, charismatic people mentoring him and showing him the ropes, it's easy to see how he would follow that path, especially when you consider that it may have been the 'norm' in that era. If everyone you are racing against is doping, is it still cheating? Cheating means getting an unfair advantage - what if you're just trying to level the playing field? These arguments are nothing new and I'm not condoning his actions, but I can understand how it happened and I don't think that every doper is a POS. Most are, though. :) Especially now when it seems as though cycling is making a concerted effort to clean up the sport.
So what are my emotions this morning?
Anger. I'm pissed (like Landis) that people are out there cheating (or have cheated) and racing their bikes and having successes. I'm angry that I am sitting here at home in my athletic prime and not in Italy or California racing though I never knowingly cheated in my life.
Fear. I'm worried about our sport. How is this going to affect sponsorship? How will cycling be viewed by the masses? Will people realize that doping is rampant in EVERY sport where significant money is at stake but that cycling goes further than perhaps any other sport to rid cheaters from the ranks?
Pride. I'm proud of the fact that I have achieved all that I did with a clean body and conscience. Who knows how many people who have beaten me over the years have done so dirty. However, I have thought about the possibility that whatever was found in my system did illegally enhance my performance but then I think about the facts surrounding my test. Tour of Utah TT victory, negative urine test - 8 days later USPro TT I was blown out of the water, pos. urine test. I don't think there was much performance enhancement happening that day.
So there you go. That's my reaction to the latest scandal to hit our wonderful sport. My stomach has been in knots all morning thinking about it and part of me hopes that Landis will be shooed aside as a disgruntled, lying cheater. That way we can go on thinking that the world is just and fair - that those who cheat get caught and those who don't get to go for the glory.
37 comments:
Tom do not bring yourself into this it is just furthur bismerching the sport of cycling even more. I watched you at nature valley last year and was very impressed and inspired only to see you get caught doping. In my opinion, it is only a matter of time until you admit that you cheated too. Drugs do not just pop up in your system unknowingly at a major race. Also, your post is discrediting Lance Armstrong, George Hincapie, and others who are legends. You are calling Floyd truthful while lying yourself and calling out the greatest cyclists in the sport as cheaters. Just stop, rethink what you are doing, and stop trying to make yourself look better than you really are.
Ugh. Well, I had a somewhat nasty rebuttal written when I decided that you, Anonymous, must be about 16 years old to have this level of naivety. All I can say is that I believe that your heroes are just as great as you do (though a bit more human). I'm sorry that this seems contradictory to you but I have a slightly different world view than you.
And don't hold your breath for my "confession". I sleep very well at night. I'm so stinkin honest with this blog sometimes it's embarrassing.
Keep taking the high road Tom. Anonymous blog commenters may keep you as their sacrificial lamb so they can enjoy watching Versus, but you can still know that all your accomplishments were done the right way. In the end, that is all that matters. Realism ultimately leads to solipsism.
Anonymous poster #1: I give you credit for wielding the phrase "furthur bismerching". However, points will be deducted due to your misspelling of "further"...and "besmirching". As to your comments, perhaps Tom would be better off not "bringing himself into this", but only because it puts him out there to be attacked by cowards such as yourself. But how do you read his blog as making him look better than he really is? I love the guy, but his posts are 50% stream of consciousness. This is not really the hallmark of a blockbuster public relations campaign. And your logic regarding the "legends" of the sport seems to be a bit of a paradox. Have you questioned how they achieved that status?
Hmmm, Anonymous # 1 has a lot of work to do understanding oneself before coming onto your blog Tom and making the apple and oranges assertions about "legends" and liars. It really disturbs me that such people or any for that matter, can be so naive to what is going on here. Do I believe Floyd? Yes, now. When he was lying I did not because of his absurb excuses such as bourbon and beer. Doping at the level he is refering to is a multi-million dollar business and a boon for the pharm companies, in any sport. Not just cycling. Legends? What, Roger Clemens? Barry Bonds? Becareful Anonymous #1 who you think are your legends. The letdown will be all yours.
Tom has nothing to admit so don't hod your pants up waiting for it. I am pretty sure Tom doesn't have $80,000 a year to put into sport enhancing drugs. If he did, he would have bought a new car instead. Ha ha, sorry Tom.
The sad reality is that there is doping in our sport as with any other sport. It is the price they pay to play. I patiently wait for Tom to come back and show us how it is done in a clean way, just as he did before. Anonymous # 1 look at the facts, look at the obvious, look at the history, look at the industies involved, look at the money at stake, and possibly you may see the light on what has happened to our beautiful sport, even through your the ways of your "legends." This is big business buddy. That is the sad reality of it all. Let's hope for the best and better days.
Now go ride a bike!
It's always nice to hear a voice on the subject here. Don't let people criticise you too hard.
One man's legend is another man's myth.
Well done Tom, you will have succesfully found yourself a whole new legion of haters with that blog. Those who beleive that Armstrong has ridden clean, is "the most tested athlete in the world", "has never failed a dope test" and live in complete ignorance of what is really going on.
Im not going to comment on your case, I dont honestly think that is relevant, but well done for having the courage to come out and say you believe Floyd. Its going to take a lot of people like you to finally bring the Postal myth crashing down. Then maybe cycling can move forward.
misspellings and all...I agree with the sentiments of anonymous poster #1. Why do cheaters deny Tom? Why do you continue to deny? Your ramblings would hold more value if you were honest with yourself.
Stupid and baseless accusations aside on my part, this pathetic blog reader wants to say one more thing. Heres what drove me to make a personal attack on Mr. Zirbel that was not relevant or just as Tom has shown integrity on many levels with his charitable organizations, bike racing, ect..
Here is what pisses me off, and maybe I am too naive to understand. How can Mr. Zirbel see Floyd as a good person. I do think that the men Floyd named did cheat. To me there is almost no question that they did as many of you would agree. In the context of what Floyd did and how he did it, this is not and should not be relevant.
Floyd lied for many years and wasted a lot of both his money and other people's money as well. Now, he picks a time to reveal all these personal accounts of what happend without any evidence, as of yet. Other riders aside, he attacks Lance who raises millions of dollars to fight cancer as well as inspires hope and courage in many people. I do not care whether anyone believes it or not, but my brother has cancer and absolutely loves Lance which has given him strength to continue fighting and determination to be a bike racer when he recovers. I know that he is a 'hero' to many people regarless of what he has done to win, or what one's definition of a hero may be.
Seeing a person such as Floyd, who wasts everyone's money and time, attack someone regardless of if they have cheated or not like Floyd, is sick. It is not about the bike racing anymore, the only reason I can think of Floyd doing this is for some sort of personal gain and release of guilt that he readily deserves. It is not about bike legends and heroes, it is going to effect a lot more than the reputations of a few fast bike racers.
Im done commenting, I was stupid to think that I should pathetically channel my anger at a bike racer who takes the time to blog and has achieved results I will never accomplish. Best of luck to everyone racing especially Tom, who I apologize to.
Dear Tom,
Thanks for supporting Floyd. If only Jonathan Vaughters had 1/16 the testosterone (natural of course) coursing through his system that you have, we could clean up this mess. DZ's behavior is also disgraceful. In closing you can always find us in the SFV working on our projects. We dope all the time but it's not illegal in porn.
Sincerely,
Reid Rothchild and Dirk Digler aka Chest Rockwell and Brock Landers
Tom,
None of us really know if there is any truth in the email from Mr. Landis. His credibility is at an all time low regardless. If what he says now is truthful than he defrauded so many of us that believed in him for the past four years. If he is untruthful now and his motivation is vindictive, well that speaks for itself.
It seems more than likely that at some point riders like Armstrong et al experimented with performance enhancing substances and practices. Lemond, for all his denial was at the top of his form at a time when doping was prevelant, widely accepted and not well tested for. He seems to have forgotten that after his comeback from being shot he too was suspected and accused of doping.
What I do know is that cycling at least is trying hard to reform the sport and make it a cleaner if not clean environment in which to compete. Landis' emails do nothing to enhance this and only detract and bring down a beautiful sport. His timing if nothing else is supect and poor. I believed in him and now regardless of which story he tells is acurate he becomes just one more fallen "hero". It is sad, but fortunately the sport and the racing will go on.
Kudos to you for standing up, particularly when the inevitable responses would come.
And if you were doping, I think you owe me at last $60.00 in prize money...
Here's another great blog post on the subject. While the guy has some questionable piercings and a complete inability to ride safely in a crit, he makes some great points: http://www.cycle-smart.com/blog
Anonymous #1 - Regarding post #9: That is reasonable and I can appreciate that sentiment. I think you probably answered your own question of how Tom could possibly see Landis as a good person. You mentioned your belief that Lance cheated on the bike, but is a hero in other ways. I do believe that Lance is a hero in many ways and has done incredible work for the Cancer community. But good people can do bad things and bad people can do good things. Humans are unique and complex, as are each of these doping allegations. I only hope that people will see Tom's case as unique and complex and give it the appropriate due diligence. Unfortunately, I know that snap judgements are much easier to make and that is the path that most will choose.
Tom until you are honest about your own doping, why should we give any credibility to your opinion?
So Tom are you saying that you believe Floyd in saying that Dave Zabriskie a rider who was supposed to be your "team mate" is a doper?
If I understand some interview bites correctly, "coming clean" like this in the midst of the Tour of California is something Floyd had threatened to do if he wasn't permitted to ride the race. If THAT turns out to be true, well, harder to imagine a more pathetic person.
Bravo Tom, Bravo!!
Tom,
I have a question for you that I'd like to ask you privately so as to spare your readers a bland, technical discussion. Would you email me? joe at joepapp.com.
Thanks!
JP
If everyone cheats and you cheat, is it cheating? According to game theory,no. It's leveling the playing field.
Think of it this way in terms of traffic. You are trying to exit off an offramp and you are in a line of cars that are all waiting driving at a moderately slow pace. If one person decides to drive very close to the exit and cut into the line of cars, the driver successfully saved himself all the time that he would had wasted following the flow of traffic. Now the scenerio that everyone doesn't follow the rules: If there is a line of cars driving down and there are a lot of cars driving and cutting in, traffic will slow down to a point where it is pointless to cheat and try to cut because the lane used to cut will be congested therefore rendering this time saving tactic pointless.
Hey Tom,
you claimed that you are a chemist (Bachelor level). If you are still cluless about DHEA and how it could enter in your body (you can't get any proof of contamination, you know what you eat and drink)? I would affirm that you are the worst scientist ever and can't believe how you could get your diploma. Maybe you cheat to at class? Or you are a liar as every doper. Good luck at finding a job in a pharma! Stay at fastcat.
@Anonymous
1) Believe it or not, there is no "DHEA 101" course in the Chemistry track and a Chemistry degree is not a blanket of knowledge covering every substance.
2) Do you separate out and hermetically seal 10% of every food and drink you ingest and hold for 3 months just in case it is needed for laboratory testing down the road?
Tom,
Why dont you take a lie dector test along with landis and you both can clear your name. You can pass the test and prove that did not know that you had taken performance enhancers and clear your name. Floyd can take it and prove that all of the things he has said about Armstrong are true...Or did the lawyers tell you that was a bad idea?Just curious.
Sorry for the typo...Lie detector test...If Contador is telling the truth why would he not take one?
@jay - In a perfect world, a polygraph test would be the answer to every case. But there is a reason that these tests are inadmissible in court; they are slightly more accurate than a coin flip. A good liar with the right tactics can easily pass the test and a truthful person in a highly stressful situation can easily fail. Television (game shows / cop shows) has glamorized the polygraph and made the general public assume it should be taken as truth. If any of these guys passed or failed a polygraph, it wouldn't make a bit of difference.
Dave you must be a lawyer....If i had nothing to hide i would be the first one in line.....I did nothing wrong...give me the test!
So Dave if you were offered the test you would turn it down because you might fail it?
One more thing Dave. Everyone of these athletes who cries that they are not guilty of doping all end up being guilty. Marion Jones,Keith Hernandez,Barry Bonds,Floyd Landis and the list goes on. They all cry foul but not one of them when asked to take the test would. They all get lawyers and cry how they are clean...All of them lied.It tells me that if you have nothing to hide you take the test.Spin it any way you want Dave. If your innocent you have nothing to fear..
@jay - You are still operating under the mistaken assumption that a polygraph test is a valid means of extracting the truth. You certainly don't need to accept my "spin", but you might do a bit of research on polygraph validity for your own edification.
20 years in law enforcement in charge of a major detectives bureau for the last 5 years is where i have my experience with lie detector tests Dave. Several years training with the FBI and watching my own people administer them.In order to become an FBI SSG
candidate you are required to take a polygraph....Most people dont make it. So yes a polygraph is a valid means of extracting the truth. Oh and i also find time to ride a bike...
You guys can argue about lie detector tests all you want. The bottom line is he was banned for two years for an illegal substance.I think these guys take their jobs pretty serious and do not go after people without cause. Floyd Landis is upset why? He got caught and now has lost everything. If Floyd Landis cared so much about the sport of cycling he would not have cheated to begin with.I cheated so know i am going after all the people i think cheated . I took money for my defense but now i am a great guy and i want to come clean.Whats sad is every sport is just like cycling.
@jay - I'm well aware of law enforcement's infatuation with the test. Given your background it is not surprising that you would turn to it as an infallible means to the truth. And, yes, somewhere around 50% of FBI SSG applicants fail the test. So if that number were, say, an 80% failure rate, would that make the test even more valid? Heck, when the FBI bumped up testing on agents, even Attorney General Ashcroft admitted the test was not totally reliable. He estimated 15% false positives and he was the one pushing the changes through.
Ian i am confused about your comments. Are you saying since Tom has no money that means he is not capable of getting PED's? That has got to be the dumbest comment on here. So all of those college kids using steriods have 80,000 ? Lance had 80,000 after cancer to start using PED's? If your buddy was clean to begin with he wouldnt be sitting home with a two year ban..Lets hope he rides clean when he comes back.
@ David Balwin: Of course, DHEA might be missing in the book. If you can't understand the book, that's the problem. The answer is never in the book anyway and you need to find yourself. Btw, there were cases in which athletes found the source of the tainted supplements and received compensation from the supplier. If I was really serious, clif bar, gu stuff would be tested by a lab prior to used.
@Anonymous - So on the first point you are agreeing with me then, right?
@david: No, he is supposed to be above the 101 level and it is the way to separate the good and the bad one anyway.
His case sounds too classic. Doesn't mean that Tom is a bad guy but doper, YES. TH was a good guy and convicted doper too unfortunately.
David..It seems your the only guy in here defending Tom on every comment that someone posts on here. Are you Tom? Seems pretty obvious that you are.why dont you find a new hobbie and let real cyclist ride...
@Anonymous - Crap, you totally got me. David is my sarcastic alter-ego. You are the smartest person in the world. Let's be friends.
Welcome back! Get out there and kick some butte!!
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