Emails have now been expanded:
-----Original Message-----
From: Andrew Messick
Sent: Saturday, April 24, 2010 8:13 PM
To: Floyd Landis
Cc: Brent Kay; S. Johnson; Steven Hess
Subject: Re: Opportunities
You have misunderstood our position. We are partners with usada and have a strong anti-doping program for our race that enhances the uci's efforts in this area. We are committed to doing everything in our power to have a clean race. If you have something to say about doping in cycling, tell usada. They have been empowered to investigate possible doping cases and we trust them to do it.
-----Original Message-----
From: floyd landis
To: Andrew Messick
CC: Brent Kay; S. Johnson; Steven Hess
Sent: Sat Apr 24 19:06:12 2010
Subject: Re: Opportunities
Andrew,
Thank you for clarifying the position of the Tour of California on these subjects. I just wanted to be sure that I gave you the opportunity to be involved in cleaning up cycling as I have with so many in positions of power such as Steve Johnson and Jim Ochowitz but as I expected the Tour of California is interested in the status quo as were they and I wish you all luck with that. I certainly understand that my revealing that Lance Armstrong has relied on blood doping, EPO, and anabolics to win the three Tours de France in which I helped him will jeopardize your substantial investment in facilitating his appearance so from a business point of view I understand fully.
However from a moral and ethical standpoint we stand in stark contrast. Thanks again for connecting me with Travis Tygart.
Floyd
On Sat, Apr 24, 2010 at 1:56 PM, Andrew Messick wrote:
Floyd,
First, let me say that I have no doubts about your ability to do our race. The rest of your team is our concern. Second, I think that whatever conversations you have with usada should remain between you and usada. Good luck.
Andrew
-----Original Message-----
From: floyd landis
To: Brent Kay; S. Johnson; Steven Hess
Sent: Sat Apr 24 05:50:15 2010
Subject: Re: Opportunities
Andrew,
Thank you for your response and I'll do my best to remember that you are new to cycling when trying to not feel insulted by your assertion that I am not capable of competing in an 800 mile race. I know that in the past the Tour of California has been adamant about preventing doping in it's race, the suspicious lack of an EPO test in
2006 combined with the title sponsor who manufactures the drug notwithstanding
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/17/s...tml?ex=1329368400&en=9df932eee5268113&ei=5090 , I'm hopefull that you and those who make the decisions in that regard are sincere.
I'm in the process of arranging, within the next two weeks, another meeting with USADA in which I name the racers and staff who helped me to use performance enhancing drugs and avoid detection and am led to believe, by the stance that the Tour of California has taken, that you would be interested in joining us in that meeting so as to ascertain information about which teams to invite in the future.
I've taken the liberty because I assume your interests are aligned, to copy Steve Johnson on this note and I'm hopefull that unlike in the past he'll also be willing to join and be forthcoming about what he knows about the history of doping in cycling as well.
As I explained in my first (recorded) conversation, I care deeply about the young people who aspire to become professional cyclists and hope that you also want them to be able to live that dream without having to make the choice about weather or not to use performance enhancing drugs without having to consider that those who control cycling are complicit in allowing dopings existance. Doping will probably never be gone for good but I'm sure you'll agree that the athletes in the future will have an easier decision if those, like yourself and Steve Johnson, in power in the sport will have made the morally and ethically correct choice at this very moment when there is a chance to reverse the trend and shed light on the magnitude of the problem.
Let me know if you'd like to be part of the problem or part of the solution.
Thank you
Floyd Landis
On Thu, Apr 22, 2010 at 12:36 PM, Andrew Messick wrote:
Floyd,
Thank you for your note. We are pleased that Ouch has chosen to support your team.
As you may know, we are again partnering with USADA on a supplemental anti-doping program for our race. I am glad that you have had positive conversations with USADA and we hope for a satisfactory resolution for everyone.
Regarding the inclusion of Bahati Foundation team in our race, choosing the teams is a difficult job and there are always teams that we are unable to invite who feel that they deserve a spot. Our concern about the Bahati team was, and continues to be, a lack of a track record and concerns about the team's ability to handle an 800-mile stage race (concerns I raised when I met with Eric, Rashaan and Steve Owens in Los Angeles some months ago).
You comment about us "leveraging small American teams"
is unfair, inappropriate and wrong. We eliminated the concierge fee this year for Continental teams to make clear that we are not charging Continental teams for participation. We have numerous teams in this year's race that have no commercial relationship with us, although I believe that it is good business for a team and its sponsors to activate around our race.
Regarding Dr. Kay, we keep our commercial arrangements confidential. If Dr. Kay would like to talk about his relationship with the race, he should contact me directly.
Your comments regarding Lance Armstrong are not worthy of a response.
Lastly, I want to point out that we have been supporters of you through the years. We embraced your return to professional cycling in 2009 and promoted your involvement in our race heavily last year. As a past champion of our race, we'd all like to see you succeed.
My best regards,
Andrew
________________________________
From: floyd landis
Sent: Thursday, April 22, 2010 10:23 AM
To: Andrew Messick; Eric at Bahi Foundation; Brent Kay
Subject: Opportunities
Hey Andrew,
Thanks for facilitating the meeting with USADA, I met with them on Tuesday in LA but kept the other riders anonymous for the moment because I'm trying to negotiate amnesty for the guys that want to clear their conscience but I did admit to what I've done and offered to help make the testing better with my knowledge. They like to destroy athletes publicly and I think that is counter to their stated mission so it's going to be difficult to get. In the mean time Dr. Kay who owns Ouch has taken over as title sponsor of the Bahati Foundation team and has, months ago, bought a VIP tent for the last day of TOC and has strong interest in having the team in the TOC. Therefore I think it reasonable, in the event that you cannot add his team to the TOC, that you refund the 40K that Dr Kay has paid for the tent since, for one he has been snubbed from the race and moreover the 40K along with all of the other money that you leverage from small American teams ends up deposited directly into Lance Armstrongs account as an appearance fee.
Dr Kay, the Bahati Foundation, and I have no desire to help finance that endeavor in the event that there is no place for the Ouch team in the race especially considering that there are going to be many racers, on those small American teams, who are paid less than 15K a year and have no medical insurance so that their teams can afford to pay their way into the TOC just to have it handed to Mr Armstrong. This system has no value to the hard working, clean racing, aspiring American racers who are caught up in it, and my wealthy friends including Dr Kay and I have no desire to help to perpetuate this unidirectional flow of money. I have several opportunities for raising money for your race but it doesn't make sense to me or my good friend Dr. Kay to put any more money or effort into helping you or cycling for that matter if there is no chance of adding one more team to the 2010 TOC. Please let me know if that is a possibility at this point before I go into any more detail.
Thanks
Floyd Landis