With a tumultuous couple of weeks behind him, Floyd Landis found some solace on his bicycle speeding through the Catskill Mountains.
Competing in the Tour of the Catskills, a two-stage race of 257.5km, Landis joked with fellow riders on both days, heard a few cheers along the way and seemed to be at ease when he crossed the finish line on Sunday tied for 11th overall, 69 seconds behind winner Aurelien Passeron of France.
“I think in terms of what’s going on, if cycling is a way out for him to relieve the tension, that’s fine,” said Emerson Oronte, who finished second overall, 35 seconds behind Passeron.
Cameron Cogburn, of Cambridge, Massachusetts, was third, another second back.
The 34-year-old Landis was stripped of his 2006 Tour de France title for doping and admitted this spring to using drugs to gain a competitive edge. The admission spurred a US federal investigation of possible fraud and doping charges against seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong and his associates.
Landis claims that doping was common years ago when he and Armstrong rode together on the US Postal Service Team. Armstrong has denied using performance-enhancing drugs and has never tested positive.
Landis repeated his claims on a network news show just over a week ago, then ducked out of the final day of the Cascade Cycling Classic.
Landis declined to take questions in Oregon and continued his silence in the Catskills, though he seemed to be enjoying the camaraderie of the sport and was quick with a smile when chastised on Sunday for riding without a helmet as he warmed up prior to the start of the stage.
Starting the Mountaintop Classic 34 seconds behind Passeron, Landis faded when the 129km stage reached the epic climb up Platte Clove known as the “Devil’s Kitchen” leg.
Riding unattached, Landis was at the tail of the second group of 12 riders that completed the stage 25 seconds behind the top 10, who finished in 3 hours, 13.30 seconds.
Among the other stage winners on Sunday was 16-year-old Connor Ryan, who rode only the final leg after cutting short a vacation in Cancun, Mexico.
Ryan won by over a minute and was in awe of Devil’s Kitchen, a 4.8km climb with a grade that reaches almost 20 percent.
“That’s the steepest thing I’ve ever seen. I was going 5 miles an hour [8kph],” Ryan said.
Though he’s just starting his cycling career, Ryan was well tuned into the turmoil created by Landis.
“I think there’s going to be some stuff that comes out pretty soon about Lance,” said Ryan, who has never met Landis. “Floyd, I don’t want to believe him, but at the same time I think it’s really convincing.”
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