So over the weekend, American cyclist Floyd Landis pulled off a great comeback in Stage 17 of the Tour de France, and then went on to win the race. It was one of those great sports stories where an athlete battles through a painful injury to victory. Or so we thought.
Today, the news has broken that Landis failed a drug test after Stage 17, testing positive for high levels of testosterone. They're going to do a test on another sample, and it could theoretically just be a false positive, but it looks like Landis may soon join the ranks of disgraced cheaters like Rosie Ruiz and the 1919 Black Sox.
What's really amazing is how Landis thought he could get away with it, assuming that he's guilty. I mean, they test these guys' urine samples almost every time they unzip their pants, and they freeze it to test later in case a new "gotcha" test comes up ten years from now. Ask Lance Armstrong. The cycling federation probably has a full freezer of his samples at their headquarters. If you ever go there and they offer you a popsicle, don't take one of the lemon ones.
Well, they never could get Lance, so I'm sure they'll be happy to nail another American to their cross in his place. One of the Europeans will win instead and all will be right with the world.
Say it ain't so, Floyd...
"I'm sorry, kid, I'm afraid it is."
