LeMond supports Landis in fight for clean cycling

Greg LeMond has said that he supports Floyd Landis and believes “most of” his statements “regarding the systemic corruption in professional cycling.” The first US rider ever to win the Tour de France said that he hopes Landis' decision to reveal what he knows will be the chance to change the sport and help eliminate doping.

“I believe most of Floyd Landis’s statements regarding the systemic corruption in professional cycling,” LeMond wrote on his personal website. “I imagine from my own experiences that today he is paying a heavy price for his honesty and I support Floyd in his attempt to free himself from his past. I hope that others - fans, riders and sponsor’s embrace this as an opportunity to bring about positive change in the sport.”

LeMond said that "while Landis' own doping and subsequent lying have caused many to doubt him, my position, for which I have spoken long and loud, is to advocate for deep and systemic change in the sport to eliminate the scourge of dope."

“Too many lives have been lost, too many promising careers have been cut short and too many fans have been cheated. It isn’t about whether Rider X or Rider Y can be proven by physical evidence or otherwise to have doped. Floyd Landis is simply representative of many in the sport.”

Lemond concluded, “Clean racing makes for a much more exciting sport, and I encourage the fans to engage in the dialogue surrounding Floyd Landis’ comments and advocate with me here and elsewhere for positive 'pure' change.”

LeMond's show of support for Landis is surprising in light of the history between the two. During Landis' arbitration hearing before the US Anti-doping Agency, one of Landis' staff called LeMond and threatened to disclose that LeMond had been sexually abused as a child. LeMond himself disclosed both the phone call and the abuse at the hearing. He had been called as a witness against Landis.