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Phonak disbands, Andy Rihs blames Landis
A quick apology to those of you coming solely for mountain bike stuff! If you don’t want to read an opinion piece about the state of pro cycling, skip this writeup!
For those of you who have been living under a rock for the past month, you should know that Phonak rider Floyd Landis won the 2006 Tour de France. After a miraculous Stage 17 victory, Landis won the title after dismantling Oscar Pereiro on the last individual time trial, and then cruising to victory the following day. The American’s joy was shortlived, because his ‘A’ sample revealed a high ratio of testosterone : epitestosterone. When the ‘B’ sample yielded the same result, Landis was fired from Phonak, and the team proceeded on its merry way. Next season, iShares was to take over the sponsorship of the team, but the company bolted after the team’s reputation for doping hovered over its head.
At this point, you probably imagine the saga comes to an end. But, if you thought this, you’d be wrong, because today, team owner Arne Rihs dissolved the Phonak team completely. And it gets even better, because Rihs blames American Floyd Landis for the whole thing:
“I am deeply disappointed because what he [Landis] did was what led to this decision,” Rihs said. “On the other hand you know the guys and I would never say this is a bad person because he played bad. I regret what he has done for him, too.
“But for us, it’s a tragedy that we had to stop the team now.”
Riiiighht. It was all Floyd’s fault, and Rihs knew nothing about it. Now, I know that Rihs doesn’t really believe that Landis is the reason for the team’s failure, and it’s absolutely crazy to suggest that the iShares pullout is all about The Floyd. Surely Rihs remembers Operacion Puerto? Where riders from a bunch of teams were expelled from the Tour because of their association with a doctor who provided them with doping products?
I understand fully cycling subjects its professionals to an incredible litany of tests, a process that is rivalled by few (if any) other sports in the world, and you’d find few people who’d argue that cycling is trying less to control doping than a sport like, say, the NFL or MLB. But the sponsorship didn’t fall through because of Landis, it fell through because of doping, and that’s a problem that everyone knows about but one that no one seems to control.
On Landis’ part, the cyclist has wisely gone underground after a disasterous PR run, where he looked really nervous, stumbled with his responses, and just looked plain old unconvincing. Today, an ‘open letter to the Phonak team‘ appeared on Landis’ blog. I’m not going to write on the letter itself, because that’s not what this post is about, but I was particularly aghast by the gushing, effusive, and obviously hand-picked comments that littered the end of the post.
Phil over at Spinopsys commented a couple of weeks ago about the Landis blog being closed to comments, something that kept critics and supporters alike from engaging in vigourous online debate. Some PR person in the Landis camp was obviously aware about the criticism, which left us with today’s selected words of support. But now, the comments are closed, and in this world of irony, e-sarc, and lols, some people might suggest that the comments are fitting, because although all that’s really left is a lot of snickers and muttered phrases from cycling followers all over the world.
1. Posted by Spinopsys » Blog Archive » Andy Rihs is ultimately responsible for Phonak’s demise | 4:04 am, 16 August 2006
[…] Extras: Even more commentary on Rihs’ statement at The Biking Hub. […]