Landis

[Robot]

Apologies if this has been posted before, but has anyone out there heard about Landis' hip condition?

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/09/sports/othersports/09landis-magazine.html

The writeup explains why he sits in such a strange tt position, amongst a few other things.

Dude is seriously hardcore.

[sanrensho]

Damn NY Times sign-up. Would you mind pasting the article for me?

Obviously, I haven't read the NY Times article, but I think he'll come back at the same level after the hip replacement surgery. However, having had hip surgery myself, I would guess it would be two years before he recovers fully. Landis will be 31 in October, so he's running out of time.

[Robot]

The writeup is something like 7 pages long. I pm'd you a login and password. Let me know if you have any problems.

Oh, and don't get me wrong, I'm not naive enough to think that the writeup isn't being used by the Phonak crew as a) an explanation of potential failure (ie. "Ahh, that's why he sucked on that climb.") or b) a mind fark to mess with the other top guys (ie. "I can't believe Floyd's beating me on one leg!"). Ahhh, sweet cynicism.

BUT, it is nice to read about something other than who is or isn't a doper, the ghost of Lance, or whatever other controversy du jour is hot in the press gallery.

[sanrensho]

"First, it’s funny because in almost every situation in his life, Landis is slow. He walks with a limp. He sits as often as possible and cannot cross his right leg over his left. He takes elevators instead of stairs, valet-parks at the shopping mall and sometimes has difficulty sleeping. Running is out of the question."

Whoah. Deja vu for me, and not in a pleasant way. I guess I was lucky and never developed the same condition. Major props to Landis for riding at that level on what is, by any definition, a gimpy leg.

That was an excellent read.