Landis’ win gives hope to less-than-perfect
Who among you really had heard of Floyd Landis before last week?
Yet today, he’s the winner of the Tour de France:
PARIS (AP) — The highs and lows of Floyd Landis’ nail-biter of a bike race ended without a hitch Sunday as he won the Tour de France and kept cycling’s most prestigious title in American hands for the eighth straight year.
The 30-year-old Landis, pedaling with an injured hip, cruised to victory on the cobblestones of the Champs-Elysees, a day after regaining the leader’s yellow jersey and building an insurmountable lead in the final time trial.
Notice the part about the injured hip? He crashed several years ago, developed arthritis in his right hip, and was on tap to have the hip replaced after the 2006 season.
He went through wind-tunnel tests and other procedures to determine the best fit for his bicycle. He sits far forward on his seat to take advantage of “his unique aerodynamic form.”
No one would rule him out, even though he was a lowly servant to Lance Armstrong before this year. But, neither would anyone have picked him to win the Tour.
It sounds a lot like Lance: he was at death’s door in 1997, victim of a cancer with a very high early mortality rate after its early stages. He lost a body part and 50 pounds, but never lost his determination.
And all the fine young men who feel entitled to the yellow jersey because, well, they’re physically perfect, will again wonder what went wrong—why was their physical prowess insufficient to get them to the podium?
The answer has little to do with physical strength and much more to do with an inner truth…and you can tip a glass of Champagne to that!
