Saw the link on Fark.com
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Degenerative bone condition threatens American's future
By James Startt
Only hours after positioning himself perfectly in this year's Tour de
France, American
cyclist Floyd Landis has ironically never been so uncertain about his
future as
a cyclist. His strong second-place showing in Saturday's 52-kilometer
time trial
overshadowed news that his days as a competitive cyclist may be
numbered.
According to a story run in some editions of the New Youk Times, by Dan
Coyle, Landis
is also the victim of a rare degenerative condition. Landis may likely
need a hip
replacement this winter, a potentially career compromising move.
The condition, known as Avascular Necrosis or Osteonecrosis, stems from
a 2002 training
accident and has seriously affected his hip. The hip, instead of
rebuilding itself,
has broken down as degenerative scar tissue, closed blood vessels and
caused the
ball on the hip to collapse, putting Landis in constant pain.
"It's slowly been getting worse," Landis said this morning just after
breakfast from the Ar Milin hotel in Chateaubourg. "When I walk it
hurts. When
I ride it hurts. At the end of the day it hurts. Most of the time it
doesn't keep
me awake at night, but there are nights when it does."
Landis, who appeared somewhat uneasy as he discussed the problem, added
that, while
the condition did not threaten his performance in this year's Tour de
France, it
did potentially threaten his career.
Already, at the end of the 2004 season, he underwent surgery in an
effort to rectify
the situation. It proved to be a failed attempt and one that seriously
effected
his 2005 season.
"Paris-Nice (i.e. 2005) was the most terrible experience of my life. I
didn't
even plan on making it until the Tour. At that point, I thought my
career was over."
His 2006 season, however, has proved markedly better. After winning the
Tour of
California and Tour of Georgia, as well as the Paris-Nice race, Landis
has been
one of the hottest racers so far this year. And now he is proving to be
one of the
top protagonists in this year's Tour de France.
After finishing second to Serhiy Honchar on the time trial into Rennes,
Landis moved
to within one minute and one second of the yellow jersey. And, since
few consider
Honchar a contender in the high mountains of the Tour, many already
consider Landis
the real leader of this year's race. With the Pyrenees now only two
days away, all
eyes will soon be on the 30-year old that rides for the Phonak team.
Landis likes his chances, although he knows that the real race for the
yellow jersey
has only just begun. Currently, he is most worried about the German
T-Mobile team,
who after Saturday's time trial, placed four riders in the top ten. He
said he is
uncertain what tactic they will now take. "If their objective was to
confuse
people, they got me beat."
But already he is riding like a leader. In today's stage, a journey
across the region
of Brittany, the cradle of French cycling, Landis's Phonak team spent
most of the
181-kilometer stage at the front, as they chased after a five-man
breakaway that
included his friend Dave Zabriskie of the CSC team. The day was a good
test for
the team that will be increasingly challenged in the days and weeks to
come.
But even if he wins this year's Tour, he knows that his career could
come to a premature
end. "The chances of Floyd making it through the winter (i.e. without a
hip
replacement) are slim," said his personal coach Allen Lim. But Lim also
said
that the operation, if successful, could also improve his future as a
cyclist.
And according to Zabriskie, his roommate, and training partner at their
European
home in Gerona, Spain, Landis' condition has also had positive
influence. "Somehow
I think it has made him be better. He knows his time might be limited
so he's going
for it. He's on a rampage."