Landis returns to Elk Grove bike race a new man

Three years after a positive doping test forced top rider Floyd Landis to pull out, he returns to this year's Alexian Brothers Tour of Elk Grove, a new man. Literally.

Landis will be riding on an artificial hip, after having undergone a procedure known as the "Birmingham Hip Resurfacing" that is relatively new in this country, and typically intended for younger, more active people who suffer from hip osteoarthritis.

"Getting back to racing has been great," said Landis through an e-mail exchange on Thursday, during one of his layovers while flying from California to Chicago for the men's professional race, which begins at 5:30 p.m. today and continues in stages through Sunday. "I am close to being in my best form."

While his return has not been widely promoted, those associated with the race are excited at the prospect.

"It'll be neat to see him back on a bike," says Vince Boyer, owner of Village CycleSport in Elk Grove, one of the race's main sponsors. "He's a terrific bike racer, and with the size of this purse, it will be fun to watch him compete."

There was a time when Landis thought competing again was out of the question. Not only did he see his 2006 Tour de France title stripped and his appeal denied, but the pain in his hip was so severe, he thought it would prevent him from riding again.

However, once he learned of the new surgery, Landis says he figured it gave him the best shot of returning to professional cycling.

"But no athlete has ever successfully returned from this sort of injury," Landis says, "so we didn't know what to expect."

What he got, he says, was full mobility and no more pain.

"My hip is 100 percent," Landis says. "I don't even think about it anymore."

With Landis, the list increases of high-caliber professional athletes expected to compete in the four-year old race, now featuring one of the highest purses on the USA Cycling national circuit.

In fact, USA Cycling, the sport's governing body names the Tour of Elk Grove race as the "richest men's race on the 2009 national racing calendar," with its total purse of $152,500 for men's professional cyclists. Another $43,000 will be paid out in a variety of other races being held over the weekend, including women's, kid's, fun and mayor's challenge events.

Landis will be part of an eight-man roster from his team, called OUCH Pro Cycling Team Presented by Maxxis, riding in all three pro legs this weekend.

He and his teammates will start out at 5:30 p.m. today with the Pro Men's Time Trial, before returning at 3:30 p.m. Saturday for the grueling Pro Men's Road Race, and at 2:45 p.m. on Sunday for the Pro Men's Criterium.

In all, Landis has strung together more than 100 days of racing since his suspension from USA Cycling ended in January. Just last week, he competed in the Cascade Cycling Classic in Bend, Ore.

However, he cautions fans that the Tour of Elk Grove is a good opportunity for his team, and he hopes to help them in that effort.

"I've never won this type of race; it's not my specialty, I'm not a sprinter," Landis says. "This weekend I'll be helping our sprinters, John Murphy and Karl Menzies. It will be a great race for the team."

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