I would have to go back to 1989, when I watched the taped broadcast of Greg Lemond's final-day victory over Laurent Fignon, to recall a more exciting stage of the Tour de France.

It seemed that even Floyd Landis had accepted defeat after his disasterous Stage 16 collapse. What happened Thursday wasn't a miracle, it was pure guts. Here's a sample of what's been said and written in the past 24 hours about Landis: ...   more »

The news reports that Tour de France cyclist Floyd Landis had a deteriorated hip joint that would require hip replacement surgery intially drew a reaction of shock and awe.

Now comes the question: If it's been a problem for a year or more, why mention it now? Discovery manager Johan Bruyneel says if you're a favorite, you hide your weaknesses, not publicize them. ...   more »

A troubling secret about Floyd Landis' health is coming out just the day after he climbed into 2nd place overall in the 2006 Tour de France.

The highest placed American cyclist in the Tour, and a favorite to win the race, suffers from a degenerative bone disease that gives him chronic pain and will require hip replacement surgery a few weeks after the Tour. He adopted his unusual time trial position on the bike to reduce the pain. ...   more »