Floyd Landis Biography | Floyd Landis Cyclist | Floyd Landis News

Floyd Landis Bio

Floyd Landis

Floyd Landis is an American cyclist known for his 2006 Tour de France victory and subsequent allegations of doping. Noted for his toughness over rough terrain, he was nicknamed Mofo of the Mountains by the comedian Robin Williams.

Floyd Landis was born on October 17, 1975, in a Mennonite community in Farmersville, near West Earl Township in Pennsylvania. His father, Paul, ran a carwash and laundromat while his mother, Arlene, stayed at home to look after him and his brother, Robert, and sisters Alice, Charity, Priscilla, and Abigail. The children attended local public schools but had a strict religious upbringing at home, with no television except religious broadcasts and plenty of chores to encourage the development of a strong work ethic. Landis had a job as a local grocery hop and also helped to repair machines in the laundromat. He had difficulty fitting in; watching Steven Spielberg's Jaws at the age of eight and being utterly terrified. But the bike that his family gave him for riding to church enabled him to join fishing expeditions with friends. He discovered that riding could give him the chance to see more of the world and it gradually became an obsession. He spent every spare moment practicing and soon started to participate in local races, usually winning, but he struggled with his father's disapproval and suggestions made by his local community that God disapproved of cycling.

Landis's hard work and secret nighttime training sessions paid off - at the age of eighteen he became Junior National Champion. Two years later he moved to California to train as a mountain biker, but despite impressive staying power, he found himself struggling, needing a different set of skills. He soon switched to road biking, whereupon U.S. Postal team leader Lance Armstrong recruited him. This was his big break, giving him the chance to ride in the Tour de France races from 2002 to 2004. He subsequently moved to the Phonak team to be placed ninth in the 2005 event, but it would be the following year that he would really make his name. Though he struggled in the early stages of the race, he took the yellow jersey in the notoriously difficult Alpe d'Huez stage and rode so fast in the final three stages that he came back from twelfth position to win the overall race, just ahead of teammate Óscar Pereiro Sio, fulfilling his lifetime ambition.

Unfortunately for Landis, his Tour de France victory has since been disputed and his fame has been matched by infamy. High levels of testosterone in his blood led to allegations of doping, with tests suggesting that some of the hormone was synthetic. Landis has continued to protest his innocence and is challenging the decision of Tour Director Christian Prudhomme that he was not the true winner. He has argued that the test results could have been affected by alcohol or by medication, which he was taking in ignorance of any possible performance-enhancing effects. Landis suffers from osteonecrosis, a form of osteoarthritis, and has established a foundation to raise money to help other sufferers. He has experienced particular problems with his right hip, undergoing surgery in September this year. He hopes to be able to participate in the 2007 Tour de France regardless, but it is unclear whether he will now be able to reach professional standards.

Besides his osteoarthritis foundation Landis has taken an interest in charities that encourage young people to take up cycling, and more recently he has been working to raise money for those affected by the school shooting in Nickel Mines, Pennsylvania, which is close to where he grew up and is an area where he still has friends. He now lives in a gated community in California with his wife Amber and their young daughter.

YUDDY