It was his conscience that made him decide to tell the anti-doping authorites and the public about his long term use of steroids and other performance enhancing drugs. Cyclist Floyd Landis recently told the ESPN about his doping and the life he has now after he was stripped off his Tour title in 2006. Although this is a hard decision for Landis, he believed that this is the right time to tell all the truth about how he became one of the best cyclists in the world.

When Floyd Landis tested positive for testosterone in 2006 Tour de France, he appealed his case but lost at the end of the battle. He lost his Tour title, career, savings and his marriage because of the doping conviction. He has ruined his reputation because of this incident.

Landis wants to come clean. He told ESPN that he already informed the United states Anti-doping Agency or USADA and the cycling organization about his knowledge on performance enhancing drugs. He gave detailed information to these agencies how athletes beats drug testing. He also implicated dozens of other athletes, team management and owners, and officials of the sport’s national and international governing bodies. This could lead to an international investigation and harsh reactions from involved parties.

However, Landis admitted that he does not have concrete evidences to prove his allegations. Although he has the knowledge on the rampant doping in his sport which includes coaches and teams, he can only offer some details which may not stand in court or any other investigation. Landis said that it will be his word against theirs. And his previous doping offense will also affect his credibility. It is now up to the anti-doping authorities whether to believe his claims.

Landis also told the news agency that he has a diary where he wrote his doping regimen. He is willing to share this record to anti-doping agencies if needed. Based on Landis’ account, he spent at least $90,000 a year on performance-enhancing drugs. This includes payment for consultants who helped developed his training program.

Landis was on a comprehensive training program which does not only involve the use of testosterone but several other performance enhancers. His first use of performance-enhancing drugs was in June 2002 while riding for the U.S. Postal Service team. Landis consistently used EPO or erythropoietin. This is a blood boosting drug popular to athletes who needs endurance like cycling. Aside from the synthetic testosterone found on his system, he also used human growth hormone and underwent frequent blood transfusions. He also tried female hormones and experimented with insulin. These were part of his training regimen when he was working for the U.S. Postal Service and Switzerland-based Phonak teams.

Landis admitted that this is a difficult decision for him. One of the reasons why he came forward is the psychological and emotional burden caused by deceit and the minimal chances of riding for an elite team again. “I want to clear my conscience. I don’t want to be part of the problem any more,” Landis said.

Professional cycling organizations and other pro-cyclists may welcome this admission of Landis but implicating them on rampant doping in the sport will definitely produce some violent reactions.

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