Alexander Kobulnicky

I suppose I always assumed Floyd Landis was innocent. I never thought about it too hard, but he maintained his innocence so steadfastly in the face of everything, that I was ultimately won over. Nobody in professional cycling seemed to believe him, and in the wider non-cycling world, he’s just another disgraced non-Armstrong, so protesting that he never doped would have just been pointless and embarrassing if he weren’t genuinely innocent. Right?

I’m not sure what caused him to change his story — it’s not like new evidence could have come to light that would be more damning than several positive blood tests — but it does put the header to his incredibly smarmy website in an interesting light. People are suggesting that he change the “hero” part to something more modest, but I don’t see it. He maintained the lie for years in the real world; but you never need to admit anything on the internet. Mark Zuckerberg and Facebook, Inc. may want us to present the same face to the whole world through every window, irrespective of context, but Floyd Landis and I are more traditional netizens. Depending on the audience, the time and the place, I choose my words carefully — and so does Mr. Landis. On the internet, nobody knows you’re not an American Hero.