Calling Out a Legend

There are tons of stories and difficulties that athletes have been through, but I don't know if anyone has dealt with more than what Lance Armstrong had to deal with. He's the only athlete who could ever come back from cancer and win seven consecutive Tour de Frances. Although Armstrong came back to cycling, the first Tour de France since Armstrong had retired after the 2005 season was won by former American teammate Floyd Landis. Landis was later disqualified for failing a drug test (which he originally denied) and Oscar Pereiro of Spain was crowned winner. Yesterday, Landis finally admitted his drug use.

This is a pretty big deal because of how much talk there was about this issue back when he tested positive. Landis finished 9th in the Tour the year before his "win", and I remember how much recognition he got for winning in the first year of Armstrong's absence. He had been overshadowed by the seven-time champion for a few years before 2006, and his win originally solidified the fact that the United States had great cyclists other than Armstrong. However, his admittance is nothing compared to what else he said. What seems like a result of anger after admitting his wrongdoings, Landis accused numerous other cyclists of doping, including Lance Armstrong.

Now I can understand if he's angry that he's going to be the top story for the next few days, but to call out the best of all time is absurd. I feel like he might have said this just because he wanted everyone to focus on someone else, but it makes sense that this is a lie. Every year Armstrong is tested and every year he passes. In his book It's Not About the Bike: My Journey Back to Life, he said that everyone tried to test him on the spot because they didn't believe what he did after cancer. The point is that it seems like these drug tests are pretty thorough and that people shouldn't be able to get around them. For the number of tests Armstrong has passed, I don't think this accusation very logical. Landis calling this correctly would be like correctly picking Butler to get to the NCAA Championship game. If it's false, then it would just lower his reputation that already seems like it can't go lower.