Positively False: The Real Story of How I Won the Tour de France
by Floyd Landis
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Book Summary Information
Author: Floyd LandisContributor: Loren Mooney
Edition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Published)
Format: Bargain Price
Published: 2007-06-17
ISBN: N/A
Number of pages: 320
Publisher: Simon Spotlight Entertainment
Book Reviews of Positively False: The Real Story of How I Won the Tour de France
Book Review: There is always a third option... and a fourth
Summary: 5 Stars
The third option is that he got some form of a drug without knowing it, either from someone who didn't know how these tests worked or a competitor. It might be that Floyd Landis is not lying (he comes across in his book as attractively guileless and believable) and also that the test results showed something. That option was no doubt considered but not discussed in the book because these kind of procedures are a flat yes, he was doping or no, he wasn't.
The fourth option was that his lab sample was deliberately contaminated or read to be a drug positive before it was destroyed and therefore could not be used for an outside lab to do an independent test.
The crux of the interesting part of the book is the gross unfairness of the self-protecting agencies who write their own rules, back themselves up, are beyond the reach of any laws or governing agencies and have the gall to run sloppy labs without anonymous testing. I looked it up online and found that a three-person panel voted 2:1 to uphold the positive result, a committee formed by the same agency. I think we could all imagine the enormous frustration this created for Floyd Landis, his family, friends and fans. This all belongs in the "someone ought to do something about this" category. Mr. Landis did his best to fight the system and he couldn't get anywhere but he did bring this disgusting mess to light, which was a lot more than anyone else ever did.
For that matter, I was appalled at the lack of decency by these agencies to show up anytime, anywhere and demand that he drop his pants and urinate into a sample cup in front of two strangers. Really?
In the category of what didn't happen, I would like to mention that Lance Armstrong was clearly in a better position to fight this kind of storm, financially and power-name wise, but as far as I can tell there wasn't a peep out of him even though he also is accused of doping. It probably was the smart thing to do legally but I'm sure every reader noticed that Lance Armstrong did absolutely nothing to assist or confirm the unfairness brought to light in this important book. No hero is he.
This is the first cycling book I've ever read and I will definitely seek out Floyd Landis's next. Hopefully, he will win this year's Tour De France and that will give him a platform for a bestseller.
Summary of Positively False: The Real Story of How I Won the Tour de France
THE SERIES OF EVENTS surrounding Floyd Landis's 2006 Tour de France was as improbable as anything in the history of sports: He showed up nine seconds late for the race's opening prologue, donned the leader's yellow jersey twelve days later, and lost his lead only to regain it in remarkable fashion just before the Tour's final stage into Paris. Winning the Tour should have been the culmination of a life's dream, but a mere three days later, Landis was accused of using banned performance-enhancing drugs. Released by his team and threatened with the removal of his Tour title, Landis went from winning the most prestigious race of his career to being unfairly labeled as a cheater, a liar, and a doper.Positively False is at once a memoir and a powerful indictment of the unchecked governing bodies of cycling that have compromised theintegrity of the sport as a whole. From leaving the Mennonite community of his youth in order to pursue his passion for cycling, to riding alongside Lance Armstrong for three years -- with whom he shared the same work ethic and competitive desire -- Floyd Landis details the highs and lows of his career with unabashed honesty. It is this same honesty with which he will clear his name once and for all, as he lays bare the inner workings of the cycling world -- a place where athletes are subject to the antiquated science, flawed interpretive protocols, and draconian legal processes of the anti-doping agencies -- and finally lays to rest the scandal that threatened to destroy everything he's worked so hard to achieve....
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