Lance Armstrong responds to Floyd Landis
If you’ve been following the doping saga in cycling, then you’ve heard the recent story about disgraced cyclist Floyd Landis’ confession and accusation toward Lance Armstrong.
Well here’s the latest news to come out of the situation. I’m sure as everyone expected, Lance Armstrong has responded to the allegations – and not through any weak statement either:
This video from ESPN.com and its following article go deeper to share Armstrong’s, I guess I would say, sympathy toward a guy, once on top of the cycling world: “It’s very sad,” Armstrong said. “At one point or another, all of us implicated have cared about Floyd. We might have been on different teams or from different backgrounds in our lives, but at some point or another we shared the bond that we all gave Floyd a ladder. When he dug himself in a hole, we gave him a ladder to dig out of … now people aren’t throwing ladders at him anymore.”
As Armstrong says in the video, “It’s our word against his word. I like our word. We like our credibility. Floyd lost his credibility a long time ago.”
A USA Today article shares a comment from Johan Bruyneel, the team manager during Floyd Landis’ 2006 Tour de France victory – who has also been implicated in Landis’ allegations.
In this article, Bruyneel says: “For me it’s clear we’re dealing with someone who is bitter. To me Floyd has always been an angry person, sometimes for good, sometimes for bad. Sometimes he used anger in a race to motivate himself. But really he’s angry with the world. To me it sounds like he wants to drag down people that are still here and he’s enjoying this. There’s not so much else I can say about this. Except to say it’s another fact in a long line of things that happened in the past and coming from Floyd it’s no surprise.”
So, you’ve heard both sides of the story. It’s Landis’ word against Armstrong’s word. We all know who the public will believe, but what does your gut say? Is each side right and wrong in this ordeal? Can any good come out of this situation?
Let me know your thoughts. Drop me a comment or tweet me: @rlytle.
