Eddie Pells

Floyd Landis’s arbitration hearing took a chaotic twist Thursday when Greg LeMond, his fellow American Tour de France champion, revealed he had been sexually abused as a child and said that the Landis camp tried to use it as blackmail to keep LeMond from testifying.

It was a shock, not only because of the content of the much-awaited appearance by LeMond, a three-time Tour de France winner, but because of the contrast between his testimony and three days of hearings focusing on the scientific details surrounding tests that indicated Landis had used synthetic testosterone, a banned substance, during his victory in the Tour de France last year.

LeMond told of a conversation he had with Landis after news of Landis’s positive “A” urine sample during his 2006 Tour victory had become known in the news media.

LeMond said he had urged Landis to come clean if, in fact, his backup “B” sample also came back tainted. He said he encouraged Landis to help the sport of cycling and “more importantly, help himself.”

LeMond testified that Landis replied by saying: “ ‘What good would it do? If I did, it would destroy a lot of my friends and hurt a lot of people.’ ”

LeMond said he used the account of his being sexually abused when he was 6 as an example of how it is good to get things out in the open. “It nearly destroyed me by keeping the secret,” LeMond said.

He said he told Landis that very few people knew that about him, then accused someone in the Landis camp of using that information Wednesday night in an attempt to intimidate him from appearing as a witness.

LeMond described receiving a call Wednesday evening from someone who claimed to be his uncle. He said he later traced the call to the cellphone of Will Geoghegan, Landis’s manager.

“He said, ‘I’ll be there tomorrow and we can talk about how we used to perform a sexual act,’ ” LeMond said of the phone call. “I thought this was intimidation to keep me from coming here.”

He said he was so distraught by the call, he filed a police report, which was presented as evidence by lawyers. Malibu sheriff’s officials, however, declined to release the report or details about it, saying the case was under investigation.

LeMond showed his cellphone screen with a record of the number from which he received the call. The number matched that on Geoghegan’s business card.

That marked the end of LeMond’s brief testimony.

The 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. “I just have to say, again, this is completely unfair,” said a Landis lawyer, Howard Jacobs.

He wanted to ask LeMond about suggestions he has made in the past that Armstrong, a seven-time Tour de France winner, might have used performance-enhancing drugs.

But LeMond said he did not think that was the main point.

“I think they didn’t want me coming here today,” LeMond said. “I don’t know why. If you didn’t do anything wrong, why would you mind me coming here today?”

Arbitrators called for a break to determine whether LeMond’s testimony could be allowed. As the parties were leaving the room, LeMond confronted Geoghegan.

LeMond said afterward that Geoghegan apologized and admitted he made the call. Maurice Suh, another lawyer for Landis, 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.

The Gazette, Malibu, California, May 18, 2007

Kate Crandall

(...)

The caller identified himself as “Uncle Ron” and said, “This is your uncle and I’m going to be there tomorrow,” in addition to graphic remarks describing sexual abuse, LeMond said.

After the caller hung up, LeMond said he immediately returned the phone call and got a voicemail message for someone named “Will.”

Barnett displayed the call log of LeMond’s BlackBerry with Geoghegan’s number.

LeMond filed a witness tampering charge against Geoghegan with Malibu police late Wednesday. USADA attorneys showed the report to the threeperson arbitration panel, but police declined to release a copy to a reporter.

As LeMond spoke, Geoghegan, who sat behind Landis, turned bright red and gnashed his gum.

Barnett asked Geoghegan to identify himself and as he stood, Landis closed his eyes.

(...)

USADA then called Geoghegan to the stand. Before he could take an oath, Suh objected on the grounds Geoghegan didn’t have adequate time to prepare and the panel agreed.

Shortly thereafter Geoghegan was fired.

“Mr. Geoghegan,” Suh told the panel, “is now terminated from the previous position he’s had with Mr. Landis.”

SignOnSanDiego.com, May 18, 2007

Mark Zeigler (...)

It was Perry Mason meets John Grisham meets the “Twilight Zone.”

(...)

At 6:53 p.m. on Wednesday, LeMond said, he answered a call from a number in the 949 area code apparently belonging to Geoghegan. As proof, LeMond's Blackberry was placed on the courtroom's overhead projector. Geoghegan, seated directly behind Landis and his legal team, was asked to identify himself by standing.

He did, red-faced.

“Hi, Greg, this is your uncle,” LeMond said the caller told him. “He said, 'I'll be there tomorrow and we could talk about how we used to (do explicit things).' ”

LeMond interpreted it as “intimidation” to dissuade him from testifying and promptly filed a police report for witness tampering, which in California can be a felony. Geoghegan was initially called to testify after LeMond, only for his appearance to be postponed so he could receive legal counsel.

LeMond and Geoghegan were seen talking briefly at a recess.

“He admitted to me that he called me and tried to apologize,” LeMond told reporters afterward. “I'm going to pursue this through the police. It was a real threat, and it was very – I hate to say this – creepy. It shows the extent of who he is . . . They are not good people.”

An hour later, Geoghegan was gone from the courtroom as well as from Landis' payroll.

Lead Landis attorney Maurice Suh told the three-man arbitration panel: “We have decided to terminate all business relationships between Mr. Landis and Mr. Geoghegan, as of today, as of right now.”

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