Pound casts doubt on Landis; Tour winner hits back
By Shane Stokes Applauded by some for his directness, criticised by others for blasting athletes...
Controversial WADA chief speaks about doping cases in sport
By Shane Stokes
Applauded by some for his directness, criticised by others for blasting athletes prior to an official guilty judgement, Dick Pound furthered his outspoken and controversial reputation over the weekend. The WADA chairman was quoted extensively in a large feature in the New York Times, and has caused waves with a sceptical - and somewhat unusual - assessment of Floyd Landis's Tour de France ride.
"He was 11 minutes behind or something, and all of the sudden there's this Herculean effort, where he's going up mountains like he's on a goddamn Harley," Pound told journalist Michael Sokolove. "It's a great story. Wonderful. But if it seems too good to be true, it probably is."
"I mean, it was 11 to 1!" he continued, referring to the reported testosterone-to-epitestosterone ratio in Landis' positive sample. "You'd think he'd be violating every virgin within 100 miles. How does he even get on his bicycle?"
When contacted for a response to the quote, Landis and his defence team blasted the comment and said that it backed up their assertions that Pound is not acting in an impartial manner.
For the full article, including the Tour winner's response to Pound, click here.
Get The Leadout Newsletter
The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox!
Thank you for reading 5 articles in the past 30 days*
Join now for unlimited access
Enjoy your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1
*Read any 5 articles for free in each 30-day period, this automatically resets
After your trial you will be billed £4.99 $7.99 €5.99 per month, cancel anytime. Or sign up for one year for just £49 $79 €59
Join now for unlimited access
Try your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1
Most Popular
By Laura Weislo