He was the first winner of the Tour de France to be deposed after his victory. This cyclist successfully reconverted by devoting himself to a legal activity in the United States, the sale of CBD.
He is American, won the Tour de France before being disqualified for doping, raced under the colours of the famous US Postal team in the early 2000s… But he is not Lance Armstrong! Less prominent than the former cycling star, who continues to cause controversy through his Twitter account, this cycling champion is also hated by his former leader Armstrong. And for good reason, he helped bring him down by giving incriminating testimony during the trial in the United States against Sheryl Crow’s ex-partner.
This cyclist is of course Floyd Landis, winner of the 2006 Tour de France. The American, who became the leader after playing the role of Lance Armstrong’s shadow teammate in previous years, was stripped of his victory due to a positive testosterone test during the 17th stage. Having become a key witness in the trial brought by the American justice system against Lance Armstrong, he then did not hesitate to initiate legal proceedings on behalf of the American government. Bingo, since the former yellow jersey rider finally obtained around $750,000 of the $5 million paid by Lance Armstrong to close the case!
Floyd Landis didn’t stop there and set up his business in a surprising sector of activity: the legal sale of CBD, authorized in his native Colorado. His company was launched in 2016 and is called Floyd’s of Leadville. According to the company’s website, it offers, among other things, creams, drinks and analgesic capsules infused with cannabis. Landis assures us that cannabidiol, the anti-inflammatory component of marijuana, can do better than doping, as he suffers in particular from hip problems. And it works! His company quickly multiplied distribution contracts to establish itself as a CBD player in the United States while relying on the production of the Amish community where Landis is from. He explained this in 2019 in an article for Bicycling.
“This thing has done so much for me,” he already commented in 2016 to the website The Atlantic, before detailing his business in an interview given to Le Parisien in 2020. “I see you coming. You’re going to tell me, after dope, Floyd got into drugs. He’s definitely not going to get out of it,” he confided not without humor before becoming more serious.
“I fell low, very, very low. I sank into a lot of pain. I took a lot of crap that cannabis replaced. Marijuana allowed me to sleep.” His wealth even allowed him to found his own cycling team in 2019, sponsored by his CBD store and online shop. However, the team has since ceased operations, with Floyd Landis returning to his near-anonymity in the United States.