A day after winning the Tour de France bicycle race, Farmersville native Floyd Landis said Monday he already is caught in the whirlwind of television appearances and media interviews.
Landis, 30, said he stepped down from the podium in Paris Sunday after winning the three-week race and into a party with sponsors of his Swiss-based Phonak team.
“I stayed out a lot longer than I wish I would have. I got back about 2 a.m.,” Landis said in a conference call with reporters from his Paris hotel room.
After a few hours of sleep, he was appearing on American morning television news shows via satellite.
Landis, who rode 2,178 miles during the race, said he was able to get a short nap.
“It wasn’t enough of one. I’d like about a week-long nap,” he added.
But the Conestoga Valley High School graduate won’t be getting much rest for a while. He will be riding in two short celebrity city races in Holland, one today and another on Wednesday.
He hopes to return to the United States by this weekend, probably to his home in Murrieta, Calif., for a few days before returning to the East Coast next week.
Asked by the New Era about returning to Lancaster County for a parade in his honor, Landis replied: “I’d be certainly interested in doing that.
“I don’t have — right now — any concrete plans for when I would be back there, but I think it will be at least a few weeks away. In the meantime, I’ve got quite a few things to do.”
Michael Doupe’, event director for local bicycling race promoter RedRoseRaces.com, said this morning that he had spoken with Landis’ wife, Amber, on Monday. She said they plan on being in New York early next week, but that their schedule right now is being dictated by a publicist.
Doupe’ is trying to organize a parade of bicyclists along a 5.5-mile route from Farmersville to Ephrata. The latest plans call for it to finish at the center of town.
But, he said, nothing is definite.
“If it happens, it will probably be Monday, or Tuesday or Wednesday,” said Doupe’.
“We’re still keeping our fingers crossed, but no confirmation yet.”
Lancaster is not alone in its planning. Murrieta, the San Diego suburb where Landis now lives, is also planning a community celebration of his Tour de France win, according to the Murrieta Web site. Those plans are also waiting for Landis’ schedule to become more certain.
Landis has also been extended an invitation to the White House to meet President Bush. That invitation reportedly included his parents, Paul and Arlene Landis.
Landis finally will get some rest next month. In talking to reporters Monday, he said he plans to have his hip replaced within a month. That will be followed by a six to eight week recuperation before he can get back on a bike.
He announced earlier this month, in the midst of the Tour, that he has a degenerative bone condition. The ball of his right hip is deteriorating, causing aching pain.
The condition is a result of a training-ride crash in early 2003 in which his hip was broken.
He plans to return to bicycle racing after his recovery.
“Next spring, I probably won’t be in the same shape I was in this spring, but I should be back racing without any trouble,” he said.
He plans to defend his Tour de France title and his win in April at the Tour of Georgia. Landis is coming off an incredible season that also included wins in the Tour of California in February and the Paris-Nice stage race in March.
At an average speed of more than 25 miles per hour, Landis’ Tour de France performance is the third-fastest in the 93-year history of the race.
Landis said that after all that, he wants to see his family and friends in Lancaster County.
“I’m looking forward to seeing all of them. Tell them I said ‘hi,’ ” he told the New Era.
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