Cycling: Floyd Landis is back. Eight years after his retirement, the now 42-year-old American will return to cycling with his Floyd's Of Leadville Pro Cycling Team. Curious: The money that Floyd Landis received from the lawsuit against Lance Armstrong is used as a start-up aid.
Floyd Landis wants to give something back to cycling
Cycling writes the craziest stories. Floyd Landis is now responsible for another one. In 2019, the American will return as team boss. Title sponsor of the new team becomes his own company. His company Floyd's Of Leadville was founded in Denver in 2016 and sells cannabis products. However, most of the money for the cycling team does not come from the company itself, but from the lawsuit against Lance Armstrong. Without further explanation, this founding of a new cycling team could be seen as a pure provocation. But Floyd Landis seems to be aware of the situation and above all of his responsibility.
Floyd Landis:
“I know I hurt the cycling community. Now I want to take all the proceeds I got from the settlement and invest it where it belongs: in the promotion of up-and-coming professionals.”
$1,65 million from Lance Armstrong
In 2006, the former professional caused one of the biggest scandals with his doping case at the Tour de France. He was also part of Lance Armstrong's doping program between 2002 and 2004. Now Floyd Landis wants to give something back to cycling. He has already started as a key witness in the trial against his former teammate. This earned him around $1,65 million. It is currently uncertain which drivers will start for the new team. But it is said to be some professionals from the UnitedHealthcare and Jelly Belly-Maxxis teams. Equipped with a continental license, however, we will not see the jersey of the new team on the biggest tours of the UCI calendar. Relying on wildcards, the chances of an invitation – at least outside America – are likely to be rather poor for the time being.