Two people named by Landis may co-operate with authorities

At least two of the people Floyd Landis accused of doping have already been contacted by anti-doping officials, the New York Times has reported. The newspaper says the two do not want their names published as they are still deciding whether to step forward. The unnamed agency has allegedly asked them to co-operate in its investigation in exchange for leniency.

Landis himself had tried to get others to co-operate with him, said Andrew Messick, sports director of A.E.G, which runs the Amgen Tour of California: “He was trying to find other riders to come clean with him, but nobody would.” Messick suggested that Landis tell his story to the United States Anti-Doping Agency.

In the New York Times, Messick said that he had a conversation with Landis in early April. He told me: ‘I’ve been living a lie. I can’t sleep at night. I have to ease my burden, so I’ve got to tell the truth about what I’ve done.

“I told him two things. One, none of this is new. If you hang around cycling long enough, you hear things about riders and what they’ve done. And two, what makes you think anyone would believe you?”

In the emails published by Team RadioShack on Friday, Landis indicated that he has attended meetings with officials from the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) and invited Lance Armstrong, Messick and his close friend and sponsor Dr Brent Kay to a meeting in Los Angeles on May 6. There is no indication in the emails if they attended the meeting.

According to unnamed sources in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal and other media, Landis is also co-operating with an investigation by the Food and Drug Administration. It has been reported that the investigation is being led by special agent Jeff Novitzky, who worked on the the Bay Area Laboratory Co-operative (BALCO) steroids case. However the FDA refused to confirm if that was the case.

There are unconfirmed reports that Landis may be present at the time trial stage of the Amgen Tour of California in downtown Los Angeles on Saturday.