Utterly disgusting -- threatening to reveal a private tragedy if someone tells the truth.

Floyd Landis's sleepy, scientific arbitration hearing in Malibu, Calif., morphed into a pulp-fiction blockbuster yesterday.

Greg LeMond, like Landis an American Tour de France champion, disclosed in testimony that he had been sexually abused as a child and received a call Wednesday from Landis's manager, who threatened to reveal the secret if LeMond showed up to testify.

Shortly after LeMond dropped those bombshells, the manager, Will Geoghegan, apologized to LeMond and admitted he made the call, LeMond said. Subsequently, Landis attorney Maurice Suh told Geoghegan, "You're fired," 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 University law school after his spellbinding day. "I think there's another side of Floyd that the public hasn't seen."

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.

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 his backup "B" sample also came back tainted.

Disgusting -- utterly disgusting. And bravo for Landis, who fired Geoghegan on the spot. Too bad it is clear he cheated, and deserves to be banned fromt eh sport.

Posted by: Greg at 10:44 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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