Drewcifer
Agent of Karma
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Shocker testimony at Tour de France hearing
The three-time Tour de France winner disclosed he was sexually abused at age 6.
By Eddie Pells, Associated Press
Last update: May 18, 2007 8:25 AM
MALIBU, CALIF. - Floyd Landis' sleepy, scientific arbitration hearing morphed into a pulp-fiction blockbuster Thursday, replete with revelations of sexual abuse, allegations of threatening phone calls and even a Donald Trump-style firing.
It came courtesy of Landis' fellow American Tour de France champion Greg LeMond, who disclosed he had been sexually abused as a child and received a call Wednesday from Landis' manager who threatened to reveal the secret if LeMond showed up to testify.
LeMond, 45, now lives in Medina. He became the first American to win the Tour de France in 1986. He won the Tour twice more, in '89 and '90, after recovering from being shot and severely injured in a 1987 hunting accident.
Shortly after LeMond dropped those bombshells, the manager, Will Geoghegan, walked up to LeMond, apologized and admitted he made the call, LeMond said. Which led to "You're fired" -- the message Landis attorney Maurice Suh gave to Geoghegan while they were still standing in the hearing room.
"It was a real threat, it was real creepy, and I think it shows the extent of who it is," LeMond said before leaving the Pepperdine law school after his spellbinding day. "I think there's another side of Floyd that the public hasn't seen."
A three-man arbitration panel hearing the testimony will decide whether to uphold Landis' positive doping test after Stage 17 of last year's Tour. If it does, Landis could face a two-year ban from cycling and become the first person in the 104-year history of the Tour to have his title stripped for a doping offense.
Making it worse for last year's Tour de France champion was that the cross-examination of LeMond, designed to expose his motives and impeach his credibility, was called off because LeMond refused to answer questions about seven-time Tour winner Lance Armstrong.
"I just have to say, again, this is completely unfair," Landis attorney Howard Jacobs said.
He wanted to ask LeMond about suggestions he has made in the past that Armstrong might have doped.
But LeMond didn't think that was the main point.
"I think they didn't want me coming here today," LeMond said. "I don't know why. If you didn't do anything wrong, why would you mind me coming here today?"
Before LeMond received the threatening call from Geoghegan, his testimony was supposed to be about conversations he had with Landis shortly after news of his positive "A" urine sample had been leaked to the media.
LeMond said he urged Landis to come clean if, in fact, his backup "B" sample also came back tainted.
He said he encouraged Landis to help his sport and "more importantly, help himself."At this point, he said, 'I don't see anything that ... what good would it do? If I did, it would destroy a lot of my friends and hurt a lot of people,' " LeMond testified.
He said he used the story of his being sexually abused when he was 6 as an example of how it's good to get things out in the open.
"It nearly destroyed me by keeping the secret," LeMond said.
He said he told Landis that very few people knew that about him, then revealed that someone in the Landis camp tried to use that information to intimidate him.
LeMond described receiving a call Wednesday evening from someone who claimed to be his uncle. He said he later traced the call to Geoghegan's cell phone.
"He said, 'I'll be there tomorrow and we can talk about how we used to' perform a sexual act, LeMond said of the phone call. "I thought this was intimidation to keep me from coming here."
He said he was so distraught by the call, he filed a police report, which was presented as evidence by attorneys.
LeMond insisted he appeared to testify only to help cycling, a sport he thinks has been ruined by an unabated culture of doping.
His appearance at Pepperdine, however, made the sport look every bit the unseemly circus he's been trying to fix all these years. Still, he had no remorse.
"What I felt was right was to come here and tell the truth," he said as he walked to his car. "People say it's the message that hurts this sport, but it's not that. It's cheating that hurts this sport, and that's all I have to say."
Shocker testimony at Tour de France hearing
The three-time Tour de France winner disclosed he was sexually abused at age 6.
By Eddie Pells, Associated Press
Last update: May 18, 2007 8:25 AM
MALIBU, CALIF. - Floyd Landis' sleepy, scientific arbitration hearing morphed into a pulp-fiction blockbuster Thursday, replete with revelations of sexual abuse, allegations of threatening phone calls and even a Donald Trump-style firing.
It came courtesy of Landis' fellow American Tour de France champion Greg LeMond, who disclosed he had been sexually abused as a child and received a call Wednesday from Landis' manager who threatened to reveal the secret if LeMond showed up to testify.
LeMond, 45, now lives in Medina. He became the first American to win the Tour de France in 1986. He won the Tour twice more, in '89 and '90, after recovering from being shot and severely injured in a 1987 hunting accident.
Shortly after LeMond dropped those bombshells, the manager, Will Geoghegan, walked up to LeMond, apologized and admitted he made the call, LeMond said. Which led to "You're fired" -- the message Landis attorney Maurice Suh gave to Geoghegan while they were still standing in the hearing room.
"It was a real threat, it was real creepy, and I think it shows the extent of who it is," LeMond said before leaving the Pepperdine law school after his spellbinding day. "I think there's another side of Floyd that the public hasn't seen."
A three-man arbitration panel hearing the testimony will decide whether to uphold Landis' positive doping test after Stage 17 of last year's Tour. If it does, Landis could face a two-year ban from cycling and become the first person in the 104-year history of the Tour to have his title stripped for a doping offense.
Making it worse for last year's Tour de France champion was that the cross-examination of LeMond, designed to expose his motives and impeach his credibility, was called off because LeMond refused to answer questions about seven-time Tour winner Lance Armstrong.
"I just have to say, again, this is completely unfair," Landis attorney Howard Jacobs said.
He wanted to ask LeMond about suggestions he has made in the past that Armstrong might have doped.
But LeMond didn't think that was the main point.
"I think they didn't want me coming here today," LeMond said. "I don't know why. If you didn't do anything wrong, why would you mind me coming here today?"
Before LeMond received the threatening call from Geoghegan, his testimony was supposed to be about conversations he had with Landis shortly after news of his positive "A" urine sample had been leaked to the media.
LeMond said he urged Landis to come clean if, in fact, his backup "B" sample also came back tainted.
He said he encouraged Landis to help his sport and "more importantly, help himself."At this point, he said, 'I don't see anything that ... what good would it do? If I did, it would destroy a lot of my friends and hurt a lot of people,' " LeMond testified.
He said he used the story of his being sexually abused when he was 6 as an example of how it's good to get things out in the open.
"It nearly destroyed me by keeping the secret," LeMond said.
He said he told Landis that very few people knew that about him, then revealed that someone in the Landis camp tried to use that information to intimidate him.
LeMond described receiving a call Wednesday evening from someone who claimed to be his uncle. He said he later traced the call to Geoghegan's cell phone.
"He said, 'I'll be there tomorrow and we can talk about how we used to' perform a sexual act, LeMond said of the phone call. "I thought this was intimidation to keep me from coming here."
He said he was so distraught by the call, he filed a police report, which was presented as evidence by attorneys.
LeMond insisted he appeared to testify only to help cycling, a sport he thinks has been ruined by an unabated culture of doping.
His appearance at Pepperdine, however, made the sport look every bit the unseemly circus he's been trying to fix all these years. Still, he had no remorse.
"What I felt was right was to come here and tell the truth," he said as he walked to his car. "People say it's the message that hurts this sport, but it's not that. It's cheating that hurts this sport, and that's all I have to say."
