Tour de France Champion Floyd Landis to Race 2007 Leadville Trail 100

MURIETTA, California, December 19 /PRNewswire/ --

- Landis' Hip Recovery and Training on Pace to Return to Competition; Looks Forward to Competing with Former Teammate Lance Armstrong

2006 Tour de France champion Floyd Landis today announced that he has accepted an invitation to compete in the 2007 Leadville Trail 100 Mountain Bike Race in Leadville, Colorado. The invitation, extended last week by race director Ken Chlouber, will give Landis a chance to return to mountain biking for the first time since he began road racing in 1998. Landis will have the chance to once again race against seven-time Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong, setting-up a rare opportunity for the past two Tour de France winners to compete in a different cycling discipline.

Floyd Landis said, "I started my racing career on a mountain bike in 1993. I'm looking forward to getting back to my roots. Training for Leadville will be great preparation for a return to the Tour de France. With my successful hip resurfacing and my training load increasing, I'm very much looking forward to racing my bike again."

Ken Chlouber said, "We're very pleased that Floyd accepted our invitation to race at Leadville. We can't wait to see two Tour de France champions come to this race and go head-to-head."

Landis, who underwent Birmingham Hip Resurfacing surgery on September 17, is confident that the new hip will hold up to the rigors of training and racing. "Leadville will be a real test of the new joint. Already, my hip is much stronger than it was before the surgery and there's no pain, so I have no doubt that it will stand up to the tough conditions at Leadville."

Robbie Ventura, Landis' coach and president of Vision Quest Coaching, will be preparing Landis for the event. "This will be Floyd's first big race of 2007 and we plan on having Floyd fit and ready to win," said Ventura. "Floyd's training will ramp up significantly after January 1 and, with no hip pain, we think that he can handle even more training volume than before his winning ride at the Tour de France last year."

For more information on the Leadville Trail 100 Mountain Bike Race, go to: http://www.leadvilletrail100.com/index.ihtml .

    
    Media Contact:
    Michael Henson
    Spokesperson and Communications Consultant for Floyd Landis
    +1-917-902-0767
    michaelhenson@mac.com

Web site: http://www.leadvilletrail100.com/index.ihtml

SOURCE Floyd Landis