Floyd Landis Pedals Through the Pain
July 22, 2006 — -- His head down and his feet pumping, Floyd Landis rode closer towards what could become one of the most improbable victories in the history of the Tour de France.
It hurts every time he turns a pedal.
Landis can barely walk, his hip is in such bad shape. But somehow he can ride a bike.
Barring disaster, Landis should win the Tour as it finishes on the cobblestones of the Champs Elysee tomorrow.
The French have dubbed this year's race the "tour fou, fou, fou" -- which is French for "mad, mad, mad."
The madness began when two pre-race favorites were banned accused of doping. The rest of the madness has been mostly about Floyd.
On Wednesday he lost the leader's yellow jersey, punished by the Alps. Surely, he'd blown it. Then, Thursday he had one of the greatest rides in the 103-year history of the tour. Landis moved from 11th place to 3rd and was back in the running.
"When he's cycling he's told me that he gets angry at the pain," said Daniel Coyle of Outside Magazine. "That's how he motivates himself. The hip begins to hurt. It hurts him all the time. It keeps him awake at night, at times."
This Tour is one of the toughest athletic challenges on Earth. Suffering breeds the best cyclists. For Landis it's that hip, a result of a training accident.
Win or lose, he will take is place next to the already mythical Lance Armstrong -- cancer survivor, and winner of the last seven tours.
"You don't have soft suburban kids winning the Tour de France," Coyle said. "You've got tough kids from the wrong side of the tracks with big wounds."
Once this tour is over, Landis is having his hip replaced.
"We don't know if he'll make it back," said Landis's coach, Robbie Ventura. "But he'll have won the Tour de France."
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