What is Floyd Landis' Net Worth?
Floyd Landis is a former American professional road racing cyclist who has a net worth of $1 million. Floyd Landis earned his net worth through his talent as a cyclist. He finished first at the 2006 Tour de France but was ultimately disqualified after testing positive for performance-enhancing drugs.
Early Life
Floyd Landis was born on October 14, 1975, in Farmersville, Pennsylvania, the second child to Paul and Arlene Landis. He was raised in a devout Mennonite family and community and attended Conestoga Valley High School in Lancaster. He started to ride a bike to go fishing with a friend and enjoyed it more each time he rode. He became determined to enter a local race and had to wear sweatpants because his religion forbade wearing shorts. His father thought racing was a waste of time and gave Floyd extra chores to discourage him. So Floyd started sneaking out at night to train, often in the cold. Paul thought he was up to no good and started to follow him to make sure he stayed out of trouble. Later, Floyd's father would come around as an enthusiastic supporter of his son and describe himself as Floyd's biggest fan.
Career
Floyd Landis turned pro with the Mercury Cycling Team in 1999 following a very successful junior mountain biking career. He became an all-around rider with special skills in climbing, time-trialing, and descending. He joined the U.S. Postal Service team in 2002 and moved to the Phonak Hearing Systems team in 2005. That year, he finished the Tour de France eighth overall.
Floyd Landis gave his highlight performance in the 2006 Tour de France, where he almost turned out the winner. But he got busted on doping charges instead. He was stripped of his title after testing positive for using drugs, and the competition was ultimately won by Oscar Pereiro. Floyd Landis would have been the third non-European winner in the event's history. Even though his lawyer had been trying to get the US doping authorities to drop their case against him, it was all in vain. His ban was upheld despite documented inconsistencies in the handling and evaluation of his urine samples, and he was suspended from professional competition through January 30, 2009. He appealed the result, but the Court of Arbitration for Sport upheld the panel's ruling.
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Doping Accusations & Admission
In January 2010, Floyd Landis was issued a national arrest warrant by a French judge on computer hacking charges related to the 2006 doping allegations. Landis had maintained his innocence up until this point and mounted a defense. Eventually, Floyd admitted to continual doping and even revealed that Lance Armstrong, among other top riders who rode on his team, doped as well. After Landis lost his appeal against the ban imposed on him, he had hard times finding a new team, which meant an end to his professional career in 2011.
During 2006 and 2007, Landis was believed to have raised about $1 million from the "Floyd Fairness Fund" established by businessman Thom Weisel to help him pay the reported $2 million legal bill. Federal prosecutors alleged he fraudulently solicited donations for a defense fund he set up to fight doping charges, and the sides reached agreement before a federal judge in August 2012 in which Landis agreed to pay restitution.
