LeMond: Landis could be 'symbol of change'

PARIS -- Three-time Tour de France champion Greg LeMond says the doping charges against fellow American Floyd Landis could be ``what cycling has needed for many years" in order to discourage cheating.

``If he is confirmed positive, I hope he has the courage to tell the truth," LeMond said in an interview with French weekly Le Journal du Dimanche released yesterday. ``He alone can change the face of the sport today. His example could be a symbol of change."

In a veiled reference to seven-time winner Lance Armstrong, long dogged by doping allegations, LeMond added: ``I hope that [Landis] won't do what another American did: deny, deny, deny."

LeMond, who won cycling's premier event in 1986, '89, and '90, urged a mass crackdown on doping, involving all cycling regulatory bodies, governments, and health ministries. He suggested an amnesty for riders who speak out about doping.

``Testing, we will never do enough of it," he said, urging the International Cycling Union -- which he has criticized as corrupt -- to take a more aggressive stance on doping.

Landis's victory ride into Paris last Sunday after a stunning comeback renewed enthusiasm for the sport -- but just days later, his title was in doubt after a French lab reported a testosterone imbalance in one of his urine tests.

Landis has said his body's natural metabolism was to blame and demanded backup tests.