For many Tour de France betting fans the event is still freshly etched in their memory. In the 2006 Tour de France when Floyd Landis the front running American cyclist lost his lead after perhaps one of the worst days of in de France odds Tour racing, it seemed as if his dreams of winning the race had disappeared. But then one of the most amazing events of Tour de France history happened, and he went on the ride of his life the next day and unbelievably regained his Tour de France betting lead. Now, it appears that the courts have slammed the door on his de France odds Tour appeals and once again he has lost the Tour de France betting title -this time for good.
For those not familiar with the de France odds Tour saga of Landis -the heir apparent to racing legend Lance Armstrong- he was convicted of using performance enhancing chemicals and stripped of his Tour de France title. Landis was running a very good and very smart race with a slight lead after the first day in the final stages of the 2006 Tour de France. But on the second day he inexplicably faded and lost his lead in the de France odds Tour competition by a wide margin.
Written off by everyone who knows anything about Tour de France , the cycling world was shocked by one of the most unexpected and crazy collapses in the history of Tour de France. And to add insult to injury -or injury to insult- Landis was riding with a severally damaged hip that would likely prevent him from ever competing in another Tour de France event.
Yet the next day, Landis mounted his bike and took off on the most memorable ride in Tour de France history. Be broke from the pack and somehow made up the huge deficit of time he was facing from the previous day Tour de France meltdown. Stunned and helpless all the rest of the Tour de France betting pack could do was watch as Landis pedaled to an apparent Tour de France betting win.
But as we all know now, and appeals court confirmed this week, it was all for naught as Landis was aided by performance-enhancers. Hopefully, the court’s verdict will allow us to finally close the ugliest chapters in Tour de France history.