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Armstrong saddened by Landis’s disastrous ride

Published: Jul. 19, 2006

Seven-time Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong was atop La Toussuire, after a day spent watching stage 16 in the Discovery Channel car with team director Johan Bruyneel.

Though Armstrong and Floyd Landis had had a strained relationship since Landis left U.S. Postal Service for Phonak at the end of the 2004 season, Armstrong spoke kindly of Landis at a press conference Tuesday evening at L’Alpe d’Huez, less than 24 hours before Landis’s meltdown.

“I know Floyd and I have gone through a whole cycle of ‘on the team, off the team,’ friction here and there,” Armstrong said. “But for me he's American, it's great for American cycling and I'd love to see the jersey stay in the States. I don't think it was ever as bad as some people thought. We had a follow-up discussion to clarify some things, that's all.”

Wednesday in La Toussuire, Armstrong appeared genuinely saddened by Landis’s poor performance.

“I was surprised,” Armstrong told VeloNews. “To me it was a surprise, and it was also very sad. I was in the car with Johan, and I’d never had the experience of being in the car and passing something like that. I wanted Floyd to hold on. I thought he would. I truly believed he would win the Tour.

“But that’s the Tour,” he continued. “It just takes one bad day, just one bad climb. You could lose the Tour in just two or three kilometers. It was sad. I can’t explain… When we passed him, I wanted to jump out of the car… Even though we had had our history, I wanted the guy to win.”

Asked what he might tell Landis if he had the chance, Armstrong said, “I already sent him a text message and said ‘Tough day, hang in there, man.’ There’s not a lot else to say. I know he’s disappointed, it’s not like any of us can console him in any way. He’s going to be upset about it.”