landis stays with phonak
 

i just read it on procycling.com (i think). what do you guys have to saya bout his decision?

I would have thought he would have found another team to ride with. It's not like he's a spring chicken anymore. ;) But I thought leaving US Postal was supposed to be his way of making a mark in the pro circuit. How can he do it on a team that won't be allowed to race any of the major races? I admire that he wants to stick with your contract, but this is no reason to shoot yourself in the foot.

Koffee

We're talking about Floyd Landis right? According to www.Protourcycling.com he's riding on Discovery in 2005.

I'm guessing they have an old roster posted.

PJ

It has to be an old roster. I sat with Landis at Starbucks back in August, and he was saying he was going to Phonak. You'd think protourcycling.com would do better than putting up an old, outdated roster. Maybe you can drop them an email so they can make a correction? Maybe you'll even pick up a few bucks for proofreading their website? ;)

Koffee

Here's Landis pre-Christmas interview with Cyclingnews.com discussing his situation and reasons to stick with Phonak:

http://www.cyclingnews.com/features/...d_stays_phonak

I think that if he could leave to another team he would've have done it, but since all major protour teams already spent most of the money allocated on riders, it was difficult to find someone to pay him, given his salary range... Also, after Hamilton and Perez leaving Phonak, he and Sevilla might be leaders for whatever races they can get in as a wildcard... He mentions riding possibly in Paris-Nice, Criterium Internationale and Dauphine Libere... I'm sure if Phonak plays it right they might also get invited to TdF and Vuelta...

He didn't have 13 capuccinos, did he..?

Koffe what exactley do you do for a job, how did that happen???

From what I've been able to find, it seems there are wildcard slots available in ProTour events for unapproved teams. I believe Phonak is banking on participating in the big tours using the WildCard entries.

My job has nothing to do with it. It just happened that Landis was in Downers Grove doing the USPS National Criterium Championships, and on day one, like no one was there. Floyd was there from the start of the 2 day event, and he was wandering around talking to people and signing autographs. He was sitting at Starbucks and he's a nice guy, and we have a mutual friend, so I sneaked up on him, ambushed him, and sat down for a coffee.

Koffee

Cool, I said the job part because i thought you may be a reporter (that may not be the word) and you got tointerview him.

I wish! If I'd thought about it, I would have asked him for an interview right there, taped it, and threw it up on one of the online cycling mags. It never even crossed my mind.

I got to meet Tony Cruz too. He was fun too!

Koffee

Another interview and update on the 2005 racing season of Floyd Landis:

An interview with Floyd Landis, January 27, 2005

My boss is out in CA interviewing and riding with him for a few days and he's getting a full Phonak kit. Guess this is his interview time.