Landis claims parents’ teaching key to Tour win

FLOYD LANDIS hailed the patience and persistence that his parents instilled in him in his youth as he swept to victory in the Tour de France to become the first winner in the post-Lance Armstrong era.

The 30-year-old American came home 57 seconds ahead of Spaniard Oscar Pereiro for one of the slimmest margins of victory in Tour history.

Landis demonstrated all the traits of a winner, digging in in the Alps over the final few days of the 2,000-plus mile race.

“My parents taught me that hard work and patience are some of the most important things in getting what you want,” said the Phonak team rider, whose parents raised him in the strict Mennonite Christian tradition in Pennsylvania.

Landis appeared to blow his chances on stage 16 as he was left in the wake of his rivals in the Alps and was eight minutes and eight seconds adrift of Pereiro, who had taken his race leader’s yellow jersey.

However, the following day Landis destroyed the opposition to win the 17th stage and close to within 30 seconds of Pereiro, whom he passed to reclaim the yellow jersey on Saturday.

There was never any real danger of him losing the jersey on Sunday on a hazard-free flat ride to the traditional Champs Elysees finishing point and to a congratulatory phone call from US President George Bush.

Landis has had sometimes tense relations with seven-time winner Armstrong, but admitted that riding in his former US Postal team had proved a great learning experience.

He told www.letour.fr: “I was fortunate enough to be here a few times with Lance and see how he did it and that helps but it’s quite an experience to do it myself.”

Landis was promoted to team leader after Tyler Hamilton’s suspension for a doping offence, and finished ninth in the Tour a year ago.

Over the winter he refined his time-trial skills and built a platform for success despite the prospect of potentially career-ending surgery on a degenerative hip complaint.

A racing fall in 2003 caused the problem, which led to two operations, but his femur did not heal.

Instead, the ball of bone in his hip’s joint began to crumble, a condition known as avascular necrosis, caused by the bone’s lack of blood.

Of his upcoming convalescence, Landis said: “I didn’t plan on doing any more races this year so hopefully I’ll get my problems out of the way and I’ll take it one day at a time after that.”

The win for Landis also helped Le Tour turn the page on doping scandals that overshadowed the race build-up as pre-race favourite Ivan Basso of Italy and Germany’s 1997 Tour winner Jan Ullrich thrown out.

German T-Mobile team ended a traumatic Tour by winning the team prize. Days earlier they sacked Ullrich and team-mate Oscar Sevilla.

Australia’s Rob McEwen won the green jersey for best points rider while Denmark’s Mickael Rasmussen won the “king of the mountains” polka dot jersey.

Italy’s Damiano Cunego was crowned best young rider.