Landis forfeits Dutch race
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ByEurosport
Published 27/07/2006 at 10:11 GMT
Floyd Landis pulled out of a criterium race in the Netherlands on Wednesday night despite being top of the billing. The Tour de France champion, who had agreed to race the Chaam Criterium on the back of his recent Grande Boucle victory, did not comment on
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John van den Akker, an agent who organised the appearance of the Phonak rider in the Dutch race, said: "We are really upset. We have put up a lot of money (to assure his appearance) and we are still waiting for an explication from him. (I suspect) something serious has happened.
"We tried to contact Floyd and his manager John Lelangue throughout (Wednesday) evening but we could not get through."
On Wednesday night, the International Cycling Union (UCI) announced that an unnamed rider had failed a drugs test during the Tour de France and that both he, and his team, had been informed.
The two stories are not thought to be linked although "angry" UCI president Pat McQuaid has been quoted on the Italian Tuttobici website as saying: "It's the worst possible scenario."
On Thursday morning, Landis pulled out of another race, the Jyske Bank Grand Prix in Denmark, two days after the American pipped Denmark's Michael Rasmussen to win the Stiphout Criterium in the Netherlands.
Jesper Tikoeb, the race organiser, said: "It is with great regret that we must announce that Floyd Landis will not participate in the race at Silkeborg. Our Dutch partners of Cycling Service have informed us to not expect him."
According to Dutch agency ANP, Landis's withdrawals were due to medical advice though race officials have not confirmed this.
Landis and his team have always stressed that the rider's post-Tour programme was not fixed in concrete and that his participation in races would depend on a decision about his impending hip-replacement operation.
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