Landis still hopes to leave mark on Tour

United States rider Floyd Landis still hopes to make an impact on this year's Tour of Southland.

Landis attracted national and international attention to the PowerNet-sponsored race when he was sensationally signed by the Cyclingnzshop.com-Bio Sport team.

Stripped of the 2006 Tour de France title in a doping scandal, Landis was easily the biggest name to ever come to the roads of Southland to race, but he has struggled to make his presence felt, mainly because of an overabundance of wind and a lack of lengthy hill climbs.

"It's a hard race," Landis, who is 29th overall and 12min 47sec down on race leader Jack Bauer, told The Southland Times after the sixth stage yesterday.

"First of all you have to be strong but you also have to be focused ... because of the wind. The group splits a lot. Sometimes it comes back but a lot of times it doesn't, like today. The toughest guy wins, it's a hard race."

Landis was enjoying the view from the Crown Range lookout yesterday and plans to spend a couple of days after the race sightseeing. "So far it's been a pleasant experience, apart from the wind yesterday. Other than that it's a beautiful place."

No longer a contender for race honours, Landis hopes to make an impression on today's seventh stage from Winton to Te Anau, and take a stage win before the race finishes back in Invercargill tomorrow.

"I think that's our goal now, we'll see how (today) goes."

- © Fairfax NZ News