Floyd Landis-backed Gran Fondo set for this weekend

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The Gran Fondo Catskills takes place this weekend in New York with Floyd Landis riding both the Saturday 'Café Ride' and the Gran Fondo the following day.

The inaugural running of the event takes place over two days, with Saturday’s 20–mile Café Ride free to enter.

Sunday's Gran Fondo Catskills features a recently-revised course with three timed sections and nearly 8,000 feet of total climbing in Greene County.

“Some of the riding around here is the best around and I’m looking forward to sharing that with a great group of people. It’s just about having a good day.”

Landis – central to a whistleblower case involving Lance Armstrong and the former US Postal team – lifted the lid on sustained and systematic doping in 2010. He was stripped of his Tour de France title after a positive test for testosterone in 2006 and retired from the sport in 2010.

Nowadays he rides simply for pleasure.

“I enjoy riding my bicycle and I enjoy meeting people through cycling. I’ve no desire to be involved in professional cycling anymore but this is a good way to see the positive side of cycling without the politics that go with it. Nowadays I’m riding around four or five times a week and I’m just enjoying it. This isn’t going to be something where I’m trying to race or set a record. It’s just a bike ride. If there are some competitive people here, that’s fine, but I’m just looking to take things easy and enjoy the day.”