Gap into the Alps will test if Landis is the real deal
Floyd Landis is Eddy Merckx’s unoriginal pick to win this year’s Tour de France - and on Tuesday the Belgian great will find out if the American is the real deal.
The 187km stage from Gap into the Alps, finishing with an ascent of the infamous Alpe d’Huez, ought to go a long way to deciding the 2006 race. The 14km climb at a gradient of almost eight per cent through 21 needle-sharp switchbacks has made champions and broken pretenders in the 54 years since it first featured on the Tour.
Lance Armstrong won twice on the Alpe on his way to a record seven Tours. On 20 of the 25 occasions the mountain finish has featured in the Tour route, the man who reached the summit in yellow also topped the podium in Paris.
Floyd Landis must reclaim the yellow jersey from race leader Oscar Pereiro - who holds a one-minute, 29-second lead over the Phonak rider - as well as hold off challenges from the likes of Cadel Evans and Carlos Sastre if he is to maintain the American dominance of the Tour.
There has been speculation Landis perhaps made a mistake in relinquishing the yellow jersey on Saturday’s stage when Spaniard Pereiro’s half-hour winning margin earned him the race leadership.
Landis, Armstrong’s team-mate for three years, is a determined character - a quality he learned at a young age. His family are Mennonites, a Christian sect which advocates pacifism and simple living while frowning on dancing, immodest clothing - ie no Lycra - and sport.
The 15-year-old Landis lived on his mountain-bike, so his father tried to discourage him by giving him longer and longer lists of chores. But Landis won the battle of wills - choosing to ride late in the evening and even the early hours of the morning.
A more serious threat to his life as a cyclist is a hip injury which he sustained when he smashed the top of his femur in a crash in January 2003. The injury has not properly healed, and he needs a hip replacement - the success of which will determine whether or not he can continue racing.
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Tour de France Tips: This year’s Tour will be a battle between Landis, Kloden and Leipheimer.
