In 2006, American cyclist Floyd Landis reached the pinnacle of his career by winning the Tour de France, just one year after former teammate Lance Armstrong bowed out after a record-breaking seven wins at the same competition. Just days after Landis’s victory, however, he failed a drugs test. So began years of costly public denials and legal challenges until Landis finally confessed to the truth of his doping. In doing so, he accused Armstrong of engaging in the same practices, breaking ranks to ultimately expose arguably the biggest controversy in the history of professional cycling. Twenty years on from Landis’s tainted Tour de France victory, Sunday Independent journalist Paul Kimmage travelled to Pennsylvania to reconnect with the man who blew the whistle on Lance Armstrong. This first episode of a two-part Indo Daily special charts the meteoric rise of two very different athletes and personalities, and the incredible fall that followed. Host: Fionnán Sheahan Guest: Paul Kimmage The Indo Daily is part of the Trust Project. See our ethics policies at independent.ie/ourjournalism Paul Kimmage’s three-part ‘Cheat or Be Cheated’ documentary can be watched on the Irish Independent YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D54sDw_M1nw You can also read the full 35,000-word transcript of Paul’s original 2010 interview with Floyd Landis here: https://nyvelocity.com/articles/interviews/landiskimmage/
IN Irish Independent · Licensed syndication
Whistleblower Part 1: The man who brought down Lance Armstrong
In 2006, American cyclist Floyd Landis reached the pinnacle of his career by winning the Tour de France, just one year after former teammate Lance Armstrong bowed out after a record-breaking seven wins at the same competition. Just days after Landis’s victory,…

