Hearing turns bizarre

MALIBU, Calif. – Floyd Landis’ sleepy, scientific arbitration hearing morphed into a pulp-fiction blockbuster Thursday, replete with revelations of sexual abuse, allegations of threatening phone calls and even a Donald Trump-style firing.

It came courtesy of Landis’ fellow American Tour de France champion Greg LeMond, who disclosed he had been sexually abused as a child and received a call Wednesday from Landis’ manager who threatened to reveal the secret if LeMond showed up to testify.

Shortly after LeMond dropped those bombshells, the manager, Will Geoghegan, walked up to LeMond, apologized and admitted he made the call, LeMond said. Which led to “You’re fired” – the message Landis attorney Maurice Suh gave to Geoghegan while they were still standing in the hearing room.

“It was a real threat, it was real creepy, and I think it shows the extent of who it is,” LeMond said before leaving the Pepperdine law school after his spellbinding day. “I think there’s another side of Floyd that the public hasn’t seen.”

Landis, ditching his yellow tie for a black one he wore to symbolize his feelings of animosity toward LeMond, sat stoically as he watched the three-time champion wreck his day. Landis is not allowed to comment during the hearing.

Making it worse for last year’s Tour de France champion was that the cross-examination of LeMond, designed to expose his motives and impeach his credibility, was called off because LeMond refused to answer questions about Lance Armstrong.

“I just have to say, again, this is completely unfair,” Landis attorney Howard Jacobs said.

He wanted to ask LeMond about suggestions he has made in the past that Armstrong, a seven-time Tour de France winner, might have doped.

But LeMond didn’t think that was the main point.

“I think they didn’t want me coming here today,” LeMond said. “I don’t know why. If you didn’t do anything wrong, why would you mind me coming here today?”

Before LeMond received the threatening call from Geoghegan, his testimony was supposed to be about conversations he had with Landis shortly after news of his positive “A” urine sample had been leaked to the press.

LeMond said he urged Landis to come clean if, in fact, his backup “B” sample also came back tainted.