Lemond comments post-testimony.
Passed on via email.
Lemond: The guy who threatened me last night, as I was leaving, admitted that he called me and treid to apologize. I plan on pursuing this through police. It was a real threat and it was very, I hate to say it, creepy. I think it shows the extent of who he is.
[MORE]
Q: Why do YOU think he did it?
Lemond: I mean, I think they didn’t want me coming here today. I don’t know why. If you didn’t do anything wrong, what would you object for me to be here.
I think if you read what he posted about me, I think there’s another side of Floyd the public has not seen. I was shocked last night. Absolutely shaking and shocked. I just think the comprehension of his team about sexual abuse, and people who were victims of sexual abuse is absolutely reprehensible. It shows the extent of either their ignorance, their lack of intelligence or who they really are. They are not good people.
It’s fully on record what he told me. And you can take what you want from that. Basically I was asked to show up here about my conversation with Floyd. Floyd assumed that I breached some secret pact we had and I never breached any pact. I wanted truly for this to go through the legal system and USADA and this arbitration and let the science and everything come out about the right or wrong.
You hear a lot of these athletes saying we should take down USADA, we should take down WADA, we should get rid of the UCI and today I say that thank God there’s WADA and USADA. Because we all know what’s happening to the sport of cycling. I love cycling. I care passionately about cycling. My son just got into bike riding last year, he’s got me riding again, he’s racing collegiate races, we’re going to the Tour de France this year to ride the L’Etape du Tour (a day when amateurs get to ride a stage of the Tour a day or so ahead of the race) I can just imagine my son entering a professional race today and being faced with the choice of either you dope or you don’t. I had a legal reason I didn’t answer things about Lance Armstrong, that’s been fairly common knowledge for many years, that’s why I didn’t answer. What he was trying to do was trying to portray me as (having) an ulterior motive. I put my whole bike company and my business at risk for standing up for proper ethics and honesty and I wish more people would do this in the sport of cycling. The sport is paying the price for the dishonesty and lies. The lies are starting to tumble. The house of cards is cracking and it’s coming down. I think it’s a good thing for cycling. I think the Tour de France is an incredible event and I think that as this culture and this generation of the past gets cleansed and they really really attack the issue of doping…. (doesn’t finish)
When I hear people say you cant win the Tour de France without doping, I did, and if everybody starts clean from point A to point B, you’re gonna have a winner crossing the finish line and I could tell you it would be more exciting. So I’m just here because I really believe in finding out the truth of what’s going on in cycling. I happened to not call Floyd, he called me and I was asked to testify.
Nobody owns me. Nobody in the world of cycling… there’s been a lot of people who do not want to look at the truth of what going on in cycling because of economics. I’ve had an economic fallout. If they’re trying to say I have an economic reason, I’ve had an economic fallout. I don’t really care because I’m not someone who can be bought off, silenced, I’m doing what’s right and what I felt was right was coming here and telling the truth.
50 comments:
Good lord, I am tired of this windbag. How hypocritical to question others' victories in the Tour while expecting us to just accept on faith that he never doped. I have no more reason to believe he never doped than I do Floyd, Lance, etc.
I don't know what kind of people you are (the Greg Lemond haters). I can't believe you would think of Lemond as the enemy here... the enemy of what ?... dirty cycling ? It appears that the bad guys are in the Landis camp... it's too bad for Floyd's image, which is clean, honest and hard working...His entourage looks more like it belongs in the professional boxing world.
Good lord is right. God bless you Greg! That was class.
what a shame now cycling gets dragged down to the debts of a bad divorce court hearing by 2 of America's best known cyclist. NOTHING good can ever come out of this mess now....
Dear Greg. Thanks for fighting the good fight (that means the truth)
Dear Floyd. Busted.
Why should we ever respect a man who vilifies people like Armstrong, who has never tested positive for anything? He expects us to just assume he is telling the truth. Doping was just as common in his day, and let's not forget the same man criticizing how fast the tour has become rode the fastest stage ever.
If LeMond really wanted to help, and not to just keep his name in the headlines, he would do something constructive rather than railing on individual athletes.
what next??? Seems all the 'wrong' the lab may have done doesn't even matter now does it? LeMond's history isn't too good but Landis manager really screwed up the case now? next up Paris Hilton testify's for WADA???? Cycling's black eye just got worse!
Dear Greg, thanks for showing up and refusing to answer any questions about your ulterior motives while throwing a fellow athlete under the bus. Kudos, you classless jerk.
Trislax here: I am stupified that his manager might have done something that most high school kids would be smart enough to avoid. I hate to say it, but it just doesn't add up. *69? Caller ID? I just have a hard time buying it. And, more dubious, is that it happened last night after Lemond was already set to testify. His testimony was merely word without evidence, and anyone could have deflected that without much trouble. So, why would Will have done this? Doesn't add up.
Was this a classless move by the manager, absolutely. But, let's not forget that this case will swing on the scientific evidence, not on hearsay from a man who has a clear agenda to bring down American cycling. Have we forgotten the "Lance called to threaten me" diatribe he went on?
If LeMond's telling the truth, then my whole opinion of Landis just changed.
Again TBV, thanks for doing a great job!
I don’t know what’s true or isn’t true with Lemond-Landis. But Lemond has to know that when he testified, that whatever he said could never be proven and therefore, could never be conclusive one way or the other. So what’s the point ? Another pissing contest that leads nowhere except to take cycling down another notch.
cleduc
Lemond had absolutely no business being there today. It proves his ulterior motives and proves how he operates. He came to testify on a "he said - he said" discussion that may or may not have ever taken place, knowing full well that he would not answer any meaningful questions. The classy move would have been to decline and let the science speak. If he's guilty, so be it. But Lemond lost every last bit of respect that I had for him.
It just astonishes me why people are so eager to hate a guy who is threatened at least twice if he says what he knows. The type of society we live in, or at least a large part of the people here, encourage a bad set of values: 1) doubt the obvious rational explanation (Will's call just doesn't add up) 2) Say that the man telling the truth is a villain, 3) get extremely angry when their heroes are doubted.
only in America! what a side show--they should have had this on Jerry Springer! NONSENSE!!!
observation:
thinking about this last night trying to put myself in a cyclist's shoes with regard to this stacked process i came to the conclusion that i would (presuming i wasn't doping) hire a videographer and lab tech to take blood and urine samples every single day on camera and have them sent to independent labs (perhaps UCLA) for testing and put everything on the internet - video, results, etc. maybe offer a journalist to observe every sample collection.
because i wouldn't want to find myself in Landis' shoes. and if WADA and USADA have all the power the only thing an athlete can do is dublicate the testing preemptively.
and, obviously, if that happens i think it would be a huge credibility blow to anti-doping efforts. it would call into question every single test.
"It just astonishes me why people are so eager to hate a guy who is threatened at least twice if he says what he knows. The type of society we live in, or at least a large part of the people here, encourage a bad set of values: 1) doubt the obvious rational explanation (Will's call just doesn't add up) 2) Say that the man telling the truth is a villain, 3) get extremely angry when their heroes are doubted. "
Why are you so eager to believe him? I have no reason to believe he is telling the truth. I am no more gullible for not believing Lemond than you are for believing him. I would submit that he is just as likely to have doped as Armstrong, they were both nearly as dominant in their time.
Please help me understand, Why did Greg Lemond take so much (written) abuse from the Floyd Supporters (Himself, those closest to him, and all his little supporters chatting about on this blog)? Yesterday's pre-testimony comments were downright nasty.
Is it because he speaks out against doping in cycling? Because he made Floyd Landis mad months ago, for encouraging him to come clean? Why are today's comments from the Floyd supporters so negative? Because he testified that Floyd Landis admitted that he doped?
American cycling didn't reach an all time low because of anything Lemond did. Take a look at Landis' post on DPF. Now, this phone call to Lemond last night. Whew. That's playing dirty in anyone's book.
Add to that, the incessant press releases from Henson and Jacobs about results leaks to the press, lab ineptitude, conspiracies here-conspiracies there, expert witnesses being locked out of the lab, results being tampered with.
BULLSHIT.
Now, it is much more believable that someone from the Landis team “leaked” the results to L’Equipe. These/you people will stop at nothing for what … to get your idol/client off free from a doping charge that he is 99.999% likely to be guilty of.
*He tested positive T/E for one stage of the TDF
*He tested to have significant traces of banned artificial testosterone for numerous stages of the TDF
*He improved his performance from being a very good support rider to being a top 9 rider in the TDF to winning 4 stage races in a six month period
The truth is also now coming out about how the additional “B” samples were tested. Who observed what. Who was “locked out” and why. The Landis defense and p.r. team have absolutely NO Credibility, No Ethics or No Decency in my book, from what I have read.
This “case” has been 6 months of guerrilla tactics of attack, attack, attack, accuse, accuse, accuse, lie, lie, lie I am so glad that all this is public. I just hope people are smart enough to cut through and see the truth!
And, by the way, make my day and prove me wrong, Suh, Jacobs, Henson. Stop blowing smoke and start proving something.
I see this differently.
I'm well aware that Greg L has a history with Armstrong and has said that he's been threatened. Everyone in cycling knows that. Geoghehan certainly knew it.
It's reasonably clear that what Greg testified to, at least as to the threat, is true. The phone records show he received the call from Geoghehan's phone; Geoghehan was fired; Geoghehan supposedly apologized afterwards. I suspect that the idiot Geoghehan, knowing of Greg's history of claiming he was threatened, and not being believed, thought he could get away with making another stupid threat. He blew it big time.
The question about why Lemond was testifying keeps popping up over and over; I have a couple of thoughts why:
1) Lemond himself has stated in so many words that "he was the greatest American cyclist ever"... Lance and now Floyd has taken his spotlight for winning the Tour and he doesn't like sharing it; hence the reason for his wild statements, none of which can be backed up save by taking him at his word. Classic He said, she said; so anything to make everyone else look bad to prop himself up back in the lime-light.
2) USADA has something on Lemond and is blackmailing him.
3) Lemond has been 'promised' a place in USADA or as the 'greatest American cyclist' if he helps bring down Lance and/or Floyd; hence incentive to be testifying and calling out Lance, Floyd and anyone else that comes to the forefront.
Just some thoughts running through my head.
As far as I am concerned you don't just call someone up out of the blue one day and tell them you were abused and give the details.
In addition, Floyd responded to Lemond (according to Lemond) "what good will it do" in reference to coming clean. That can be taken in many different ways, I take it to read: What good would saying anything do? People will just say I am lying anyway and accuse me anyway (all of which Dick Pound and company have done).
I'm at a total loss over this. Pulling a stunt like that displays a level of ineptitude and stupidity that borders on the imbecilic. How could he not know that the call could be traced back to him? Even my grandparents know that it is easy to trace the origins of a call via cellphone.
I'd like to think there is more to this story, but I don't think that is realistic.
Lemond doesn't speak out against doping in cycling, he picks fights with individual athletes in order to keep himself in the news and to be holier than thou, ie "my wins were clean, people are faster than me now, so they must be doping." It's egotism run amock. I am not defending what the manager did, but I am saying Lemond had no business being there. This case should be decided on science, not hearsay and the testimony of a man who has shown himself to have an axe to grind with any American cyclist who might become bigger than him.
I am not presuming Floyd is innocent, but Lemond has absolutely zero credibility in my book.
If what Greg Lemond said about Floyd Landis was not true, he would had no reason to come in court, and reveal his painful past. Holding press conference voicing his opinions, staying at home enjoying life, those were the alternatives.
It is not like there was no proof in this case - there are more positive samples than necessary. It is not like his testimony would have carried weight: he didn't even claim that Floyd Landis explicitly admitted doping (something he could have done, if he had really decided to lie).
Face it, Greg Lemond, simply, went testifying to tell the truth.
The truth is Floyd Landis is a cheater and a crook.
He would have never made the revelation about his abusive past if the call hadn't happened the night before. He came to crucify someone where, if the science is so overpowering, his presence would absolutely not have been necessary.
You only resort to hearsay in testimony and personal attacks like USADA did today if your case doesn't stand on its own from a scientific standpoint.
Thank you, Sachi Wilson. I haven't changed how I feel about LeMond or Floyd. I am a Floyd supporter, and never understood why LeMond was testifying in the first place. What Will did was incrediably stupid. But what happened is that it affected Floyd. All this work, and this is the thing that everyone will be talking about!!
First off, the reason Floyd called Greg was to ask him to stop running his mouth. He didn't call to ask for advice. Second, Floyd's response "What good would it do?" is not an admission of guilt. I seriously doubt that Floyd would pick up the phone, call someone he didn't know, and the two of them share their dirty little secrets. Not only that, but read Lemond's comments - he's a big fat whiner and has his nose so far up WADA and USADA's rear ends that he'll never see daylight. Sorry, but Lemond has no credibility with me. I know Floyd - I know he's innocent, and I know there's no way in hell he'd ever admit to doping to some big mouthed yahoo on the phone. Take my word on that.
BRUSSELS, May 17 - Five-time Tour de France winner
Eddy Merckx has been called to testify in the Floyd Landis
doping hearing but has refused, saying he knows nothing about
it, Belgian media reported on Thursday.
That's what a classy athlete does.
Burt Friggin' Hoovis said...
"If LeMond's telling the truth, then my whole opinion of Landis just changed."
Polygraph 'em all. The only thing missing from this debacle is the "...videotape." Ever since Lance Armstrong won the TDF, Lemond has tirelessly sought to impugn the character and credibilty of Armstrong and now Landis. This much is certain. The halcyon days of American cycling appear to be long gone.
So, what is the prospect of Team Discovery Channel getting an American sponsor now? Perhaps this was Lemond's ulterior motive for testifying seeing Armstrong has an ownership interest in the team.
Everything that happened today seems to be the result of insinuation and subterfuge. Without an actually record of the alleged call between Landis and Lemond and without scientific voice authentification, then it seems Lemond's testimony was sought by the USADA to illicit the effect obtained: to get the focus away form the lab's bad science.
If Will Geoghegan made the call as alleged, then that is clearly reprehensible. It may indeed cost Landis any possible moral victory, especially if the panel rules against him.
Ultimately, truth is never about science. Science, like everthing else, is servant to the agenda of those in power. I fear Landis is being made an open show (since he requested the public hearing) so that no athlete subject to ADA will choose this route in the future. I believe Landis is being sacrificed, and there are far too many sick people on both sides of the pond that love to have it so. Fear and intimidation and very strong tools for control and will be more successful in curbing future doping than good science.
This is dark. I imagine Floyd pulled out the Jack Black again tonight. I can't buy that the Landis camp was smart enough to leak their own results in order to set up the lab as being procedurally sloppy and then being so stupid as to call Lemond from a personal phone and threaten him with blackmail. I imagine the DA is looking into that. It may be all about the science, but Floyd's posse just caught screwing the public opinion pooch.
I'll wait to see what Will's side of the story is before I believe anything Lemond says. I believe he is lying about the Landis call and exactly what was said, and could be using this call as a way to paint himself as a victim yet again ("Lance threatened me") and to crucify Floyd. Might be the only way USADA can win given the utter incompetence the lab appears to have shown.
sexual abuse is no joking matter and I don't see how LeMond would just randomly tell Landis 'By the way...' over the phone on a call about a totally different subject matter. Everyone knows LeMond 'iffy' history and I'm sure Landis wouldn't pick LeMond to have a heart to heart chat with over his alleged positive test. This is turing into a bad soap opera!
It's a soap opera because USADA is turning it into one. It tells me their case stinks, so they need to stoop to this level.
true but USADA didn't have Will call LeMond OR did they????
Take a look at velonews:
http://www.velonews.com/news/fea/12271.0.html
This article says that "Meanwhile, Landis defense team lead attorney Maurice Suh spent several minutes conferring with Geoghegan, whose face and neck were noticeably red. Suh told Geoghegan that he was "fired," and the embarassed business manger soon approached LeMond, apologized and admitted that he made the call.
Suh quickly moved to distance the cyclist from the affair"
You "Landis at all costs supporters" can stop guessing whether or not Geoghegan did anything to Lemond worth apologizing about. HE DID!
Wow! What an amazing revelation! Now, no matter what the truth, LeMond gets attention (yeah, he's the obnoxious kid in class who wants it no matter if it's positive or negative and we al know it), Floyd takes it in the PR department (for crying out loud, find friends like Lance has, who aren't liabilities), and everybody walks out wearing a mask made of bovine dung.
I would like to depart this fiasco with two words: Go Levi!
sweet GO LEVI is right!
Greg Lemond could have done so much good with his international prominence as an athlete. He could have rallied cyclists to form an effective union so that they could get supported by their teams when they, oh say, get cancer. Or so they could have fair and impartial hearings when they are accused of cheating. He could have spoken out for child abuse victims. He could have turned his experiences and personal capital around into something positive.
He squandered it. He picks fights with champion American cyclists and chooses to cast slurs against them.
hear hear
Yes, I remember the day that the American rode away from everyone else in the peloton like he was on a motorcycle.
Him, and his French teamate Hinault, that is.
Hero.
There is so much misinformation about Greg Lemond getting thrown about here, it's pathetic. If he is so bitter about other Americans winning the tour, why did he say this about Landis last July (before the positive test results came out): "what Floyd did was amazing . . . He has the physiology to be a Tour de France winner, he did it, and I think he will win many more. I am optimistic he will be able to defend his title next year." (Cyclingnews, July 25, 2006)
I was in Paris to see Floyd parade up and down the Champs and was rooting for his side of the story to be for real -- he had my benefit of doubt for 10 months. Not anymore.
This sport has found some new lows. I do believe that Mr. Landis and Mr. Hamilton will soon join one another in the unemployment line.
I think the once-great cyclist Mr. Lemond is coming apart from the inside. I think it's tragic. I think people don't want to think about it. But I think it's happening. It's very hard to watch, and makes me feel sad to be witness to his slow unraveling in the public.
It's over. The USADA won.
Roid Landis lost his PR war today and his naive fans hit the pavement face first.
Roid landis is:
1) a confirmed drug cheat
2) the leader of a drug disgraced Team Phonak, #13 doper caught
3) alum with Lance Pharmstrong, another confirmed doper & liar
4) doper alum with many USPO-Armstrong drug cheats: Andreu, Hamilton, Heras, Joachim, Beltran, Padrnos, Ferrari)
5) bald faced liar and fraud
6) a soon-to-be-convicted felon in California re: witness tampering
7) LIVING WRONG! w.o the Nike endorsement income or silly bracelet
8) unemployed for life
Pharmstrong will ask Roid Floyd to capitualte tonight. Pharmstrong has a lot to lose (renewals).
The Medicated Mennonite is DEAD.
And your FFF supporters all got what you deserved. SHAME!
Greg Lemond is the only honorable man in modern sport.
If Floyd had any class or was not part of the phone call, he should have fired Willy the SECOND he discovered this scumbag's little phone call.
But NO, wait, lets wait until it becomes a matter of public record, egg all over his face.
Dumbass. Glad the hearing is all out in the open so I can see the BS "oj" defense FL is attempting.
Wow, anon 10:42, you sure can get a LOT of mileage out of very few facts.
If GL felt so threatened by the phone call, then why didn't he phone the police right away? If he didn't have an agenda, then why wait until the next day to drop a bomb in court? Anyone have an answer for that?
anon 10:42, i think we've met before. you were screaming on a street corner about the world coming to an end later that day. that was five years ago. still got your placard?
i am personally of the camp that we, the public, will never know if justice prevails. the doubts, suspicions and accusations will never end. lemond, armstrong, landis, levi..... no matter who wins, someone will be waiting in the wings to chop him down. its just a shame that a clean cyclist has no shot of escaping the curse of lemond.
i have an idea. let's toss all pro cyclists under the bus and just reverse every result in tour history. we can dig up their bones, dna test them and then award them a yellow jersey posthumously.
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