Landis Rides Again

VAIL, Colo. (AP) _ No yellow jersey at stake. No bills to pay. No reputation to defend. <br/><br/>Instead, Floyd Landis got ready to ride in a nice little race on a mountain bike Saturday _ an event the

Saturday, June 2nd 2007, 2:56 pm

By: News On 6

VAIL, Colo. (AP) _ No yellow jersey at stake. No bills to pay. No reputation to defend.

Instead, Floyd Landis got ready to ride in a nice little race on a mountain bike Saturday _ an event the Tour de France champion entered only to raise money for charity and possibly remind himself of how much simpler his world used to be.

It was to be his first real race of any kind since his victory ride down the Champs-Elysees in Paris last July. Simply being in Vail, away from lawyers, publicists and the troubles that have defined his life and his troubled sport of late, was a refreshing change.

``I just get tired of having everything focused on me,'' Landis said in a pre-race interview with The Associated Press. ``Once I got here, it occurred to me again that it's not always like that.''

It reminded him that, yes, racing can be fun, even though it's far from perfect.

``Obviously, I'm not the only one in the sport with some issues,'' he said. ``The sport's dealing with a lot of stuff right now. That's not a reason for me to pretend it wasn't part of my life or doesn't exist. I still care about it. I still care about the people who were there.''

He is 10 days removed from that half-boring, half-bizarre arbitration hearing that could decide his fate. In the next month or so, the panel will decide whether Landis was guilty of doping at last year's Tour de France. From there, the loser is expected to appeal. Until then, Landis remains barred from commenting on the hearing.

But not from riding _ at least not in an event like this, the Teva Mountain Games, where he's racing for charity, with any winnings his team earns going to prostate cancer research.

He said his surgically repaired hip feels good. So good, in fact, that had he been eligible to defend his yellow jersey at the Tour de France next month, he'd be there. Instead, he'll watch the Tour from his home in California, maybe mix in some bike rides in the afternoons.

As he headed into this weekend's short races _ he'll also compete in a time trial Sunday _ he was still trying to work his way back into shape.

``There were quite a few weeks when I rode a reasonable amount, 200-300 miles a week,'' he said. ``Then that hearing. It was almost 10 days. I didn't ride at all. You're sitting there. The next thing you know, you're eating doughnuts and you don't even care. It was awful.''

Beyond that, there's not much he can say about the hearing.

He knows it became a debacle when Greg LeMond showed up and told of being sexually abused as a child, confiding that to Landis, then receiving a call from Landis' manager the night before his testimony threatening to disclose LeMond's secret to the world if LeMond showed up.

It made Landis look bad. It made everybody look bad. It turned the hearing into a circus, and neither side could have wanted that.

Despite that, and despite 10 months in which he has taken to the road to perform what he calls an almost humiliating chore of asking for money to fund his defense, Landis wants back in.

He makes a small start this weekend at an event that is privately run, not sanctioned by any governing body, not subject to doping control. A few years ago, a friend of Landis' lost a close relative to prostate cancer.

``I can't imagine what it's like to go through that, knowing it's probably going to end your life,'' Landis said. ``That's a lot more serious stuff than what I went through. These guys asked if I'd show up. Well, it's no effort on my part to come to a race like this. I said I'd gladly show up.''

The mountain bike race was a return to roots for Landis, who began his career in that discipline, but left in 1998 because the money and the competition weren't all he was hoping for.

His road-racing career took off, winding through a three-year stay on Lance Armstrong's winning Tour de France teams, an uncomfortable parting, then a chance to be The Man.

Landis made the most of it, winning last year's Tour and becoming cycling's next big star. ``Lance Who?'' was the caption on a magazine cover from last year, with Landis' face next to the words. The cover was on display on a big piece of sandwich board at an awards ceremony Landis attended Friday night. He looked surprised when he saw it.

His Tour victory has been in limbo since he tested positive for synthetic testosterone after Stage 17. He has maintained his innocence, but at great expense. The cost of legal fees has left him much closer to broke than wealthy.

``If I don't get a job soon, I'm going to lose my house,'' Landis said.

Later, he retreats a bit. He says he's still got enough money to live for a year and support his wife and daughter.

``But in no way am I going to go retire,'' said the 31-year-old cyclist. ``I have to get a job if I want to keep my house. I don't know. That's the thing, I don't know.''

He wants to work. He wants to make a living. He wants to do something he loves. He knows it will never be as easy as it once seemed.

``I'd imagine for the rest of my life, that's going to be the subject, so you might as well get used to it,'' Landis said. ``I'm not going to let that change the decisions I make. It's going to be there whatever I do, unless I move to the middle of Mexico where nobody knows who I am.''

``Which,'' he said with a laugh, ``is also a possibility.''