Floyd Landis is leading the Vuelta!
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noel
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Floyd Landis is leading the Vuelta!
For the three people on this forum that care, just thought you should know!
Oh, my God; I care so little, I almost passed out.
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noel
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Kelsh: I don't think he can take it all the way after his effort in the Tour, but it's still nice to see him having success in the Vuelta. I think the Vuelta has too much of a homecourt advantage for a lot of the spanish riders.
Ten: I read something (can't remember what/where) that seemed to indicate he had some loyalty to Postal/Discovery and didn't really want to leave. Also given that it looks like he might be a reasonable team leader after Lance retires in a few years, I think they'll do everything they can to keep him. I think he's still young? Can't remember his age offhand.
Ten: I read something (can't remember what/where) that seemed to indicate he had some loyalty to Postal/Discovery and didn't really want to leave. Also given that it looks like he might be a reasonable team leader after Lance retires in a few years, I think they'll do everything they can to keep him. I think he's still young? Can't remember his age offhand.
Oh, my God; I care so little, I almost passed out.
There was an unsubstantiated story on velonews.com a few weeks or so ago that had Johan Bruyneel saying Floyd was leaving for Phonak:
I hope he stays but I think that he'd be a kickass lieutenant for Tyler at Phonak.Wednesday's EuroFile: Landis to Phonak? No Vuelta for Casero; Brandt cleared
By VeloNews Interactive
This report filed August 25, 2004
Whispers that U.S. Postal Service strongman Floyd Landis is leaving the blue train took on more weight Wednesday when sport director Johan Bruyneel confirmed reports that Landis is poised to join former teammate Tyler Hamilton at Phonak.
In an interview with the Spanish daily MARCA, Bruyneel all but confirmed Landis´s departure from Postal Service, where he rode the past three years alongside Lance Armstrong en route to Tour de France victories.
"We had an option to keep him and we were ready to equal the offer made to Phonak, but at the same time we didn´t want him to force him to stay with us," Bruyneel was quoted.
With Armstrong´s future still uncertain and the team bringing on future Tour hope Yaroslav Popovych with a three-year contract, Landis obviously believes his future is elsewhere.
Landis, meanwhile, is scheduled to race the Vuelta a España, which begins Sept. 4, alongside ‘Triki' Beltrán and Max Van Heeswijk.
MARCA also reported that Cofidis is interested in Spanish star Oscar Sevilla, currently set to race the Vuelta alongside Tyler Hamilton at Phonak.
Guess it's "official" nowSaturday's EuroFile: Posties respond to Hamilton comments; some still see Landis as Vuelta threat
By Andrew Hood
VeloNews European correspondent
This report filed September 18, 2004
Postal angered by Hamilton's suggestion
U.S. Postal Service brass are peeved at former pupil Tyler Hamilton who suggested earlier this week the Posties weren't working hard enough to protect Floyd Landis and his hold on the Vuelta a España leader's jersey.
Hamilton approached Postal Service assistant sport director Dirk Demol during the race and said he noticed some of the Postal riders appearing not to be doing all they could to help Landis. While Landis eventually lost the jersey to Roberto Heras (Liberty Seguros) on Thursday, Demol said Hamilton's charges were off the mark.
"He came up to me and said he noticed some riders not riding to what he thought was hard enough. He said he saw (Manuel) Beltran and (Benoit) Joachim not working hard enough," Demol told VeloNews. "But that's completely wrong. The team gave everything to help Landis. Of course, on the final climb the strategy was for Floyd just to follow because he didn't have to attack, so the team wasn't supposed to be there on the hardest climbs, but what he said was not correct."
Landis is joing Hamilton at Phonak at the beginning of the 2005 season. Hamilton's teammate Oscar Sevilla, meanwhile, announced that he had signed with T-Mobile for next season.
The 27-year-old has been with Phonak since the beginning of the year. Sevilla finished seventh in the 2001 Tour de France and was runner-up that year in the Vuelta.
