Had an opportunity to listen to Floyd Landis speak today at my shop, Trek San Diego (Kerney Mesa). He seems like a really genuine nice guy, not overcome by his recent fame and sucesses. Really down to earth.
Some of the questions, and answers:
-----
Q: "How fast can you ride up Palomar?"
Floyd: (downplays his fast time, then says) "From the first store, to the stop sign at the top, well, 52 minutes".
-----
Q: "What did Lance say to you on Stage 17 last year on the final climb?"
Floyd: "Well, he asked me if I would like to win a stage of the Tour de France. I said YES, well actually I didn't really say anything, but Lance got the message, and then he said, 'well then ride down that hill faster than you have ever ridden down a hill before'. So I said OK, and I made my attempt, but then the German guys caught up, because they wanted the stage win as well, so I did not get it, but thats OK because those guys got nothing either."
-----
Q: "Do you train with a heart rate monitor, or with power?"
Floyd: "Most professionals today use some sort of powermeter for training, I use a Powertap, lots of professionals use a SRM. I have never used a powermeter for racing, but I have seen some interesting data from other riders who have used one while racing. I don't ride with a heart rate monitor in a race because the numbers do not mean much, I am not going to look down at my heart rate monitor to see if I can ride harder, I either have it or I don't".
-----
Q: "How many miles do you ride a year?"
Floyd: "Last year I rode 20,000 miles, the longest weeks were 400-500 miles".
-----
Q: "How did you get started in mountain bike racing?"
Floyd: "Me and a buddy got our mountain bikes from a local bike shop, the owner put on a MTB race and I entered, wearing sweatpants and a t shirt. I won the beginner race, and thought 'hey, this is great!', we travelled the US for a while racing the NORBA circuit and it was fun".
-----
Q: "How did you get into road racing?"
Floyd: "Well, MTB racing was losing sponsors, and I lost my sponsor and needed a job, and road racing was an opportunity, so I went that route, I never planned to be a professional road cyclist".
----------
Then there was talk about weight loss, bike weight, Bontrager wheels, and such.
----------
*And finally the last big question*
Q: "What about Phonak next year, what is going on there?"
Floyd: "This has caused me great stress and worry, but I signed with Phonak, and some things happened that were'nt good a while back with Phonak riders. Phonak is a top team, one of the best in the world. I will race for them next year. We have a great roster, top five team in the world".
Some of the questions, and answers:
-----
Q: "How fast can you ride up Palomar?"
Floyd: (downplays his fast time, then says) "From the first store, to the stop sign at the top, well, 52 minutes".
-----
Q: "What did Lance say to you on Stage 17 last year on the final climb?"
Floyd: "Well, he asked me if I would like to win a stage of the Tour de France. I said YES, well actually I didn't really say anything, but Lance got the message, and then he said, 'well then ride down that hill faster than you have ever ridden down a hill before'. So I said OK, and I made my attempt, but then the German guys caught up, because they wanted the stage win as well, so I did not get it, but thats OK because those guys got nothing either."
-----
Q: "Do you train with a heart rate monitor, or with power?"
Floyd: "Most professionals today use some sort of powermeter for training, I use a Powertap, lots of professionals use a SRM. I have never used a powermeter for racing, but I have seen some interesting data from other riders who have used one while racing. I don't ride with a heart rate monitor in a race because the numbers do not mean much, I am not going to look down at my heart rate monitor to see if I can ride harder, I either have it or I don't".
-----
Q: "How many miles do you ride a year?"
Floyd: "Last year I rode 20,000 miles, the longest weeks were 400-500 miles".
-----
Q: "How did you get started in mountain bike racing?"
Floyd: "Me and a buddy got our mountain bikes from a local bike shop, the owner put on a MTB race and I entered, wearing sweatpants and a t shirt. I won the beginner race, and thought 'hey, this is great!', we travelled the US for a while racing the NORBA circuit and it was fun".
-----
Q: "How did you get into road racing?"
Floyd: "Well, MTB racing was losing sponsors, and I lost my sponsor and needed a job, and road racing was an opportunity, so I went that route, I never planned to be a professional road cyclist".
----------
Then there was talk about weight loss, bike weight, Bontrager wheels, and such.
----------
*And finally the last big question*
Q: "What about Phonak next year, what is going on there?"
Floyd: "This has caused me great stress and worry, but I signed with Phonak, and some things happened that were'nt good a while back with Phonak riders. Phonak is a top team, one of the best in the world. I will race for them next year. We have a great roster, top five team in the world".
Last edited by:
Gary Tingley: Dec 18, 04 15:06