"Temptation is strong:" Landis mother on doping suspicion

0 Comments | AFP, July, 2006

WASHINGTON (AFP) — The mother of Tour de France winner Floyd Landis said she did not know whether her son used an illegal substance but acknowledged "temptation is strong" in the high-stakes competition.

Arlene Landis told AFP by telephone she had not spoken to her son since reports surfaced that he had tested positive for testosterone during the race he won on Sunday.

But she added, "He is prominent and temptation is strong."

"He is still my wonderful son. If it has happened I love him as much as if he had won," said Landis, speaking from her home in the tiny eastern US hamlet of Farmersville, Pennsylvania.

Arlene Landis, a devout Mennonite Christian, said that in her son's world, "temptations are different than mine."

© 2006 AFP