Landis says riding in Tour with injured hip causes constant pain

BORDEAUX, France — American rider Floyd Landis is in constant pain due to an injured hip that he said Monday will need to be replaced after he finishes the Tour de France.

Landis, one of the favorites to win this year's Tour, said the pain began after a crash in training in January 2003, when he fractured his right hip. The fracture cut off blood to the hip bone.

"It's already ruined," Landis told a news conference Monday, a rest day on the Tour.

The 30-year-old Landis is currently second overall in the Tour, one minute behind Serhiy Honchar.

He had pins inserted for the fracture and has since had two more surgical procedures — the last in 2004 — to try to restore blood to the bone.

He said he would have hip replacement surgery when the pain got too bad, and probably sooner rather than later. His Phonak team doctor, Denise Demir, said Landis could have surgery in August — the Tour finishes July 23 — if they find suitable surgeons.

She said Landis, a former teammate of seven-time Tour winner and cancer survivor Lance Armstrong, refuses to take pain medication.

"He doesn't want it. He says it makes him tough," she said.

She said that when she first saw X-rays of his hip condition, "I couldn't believe that he could walk, let alone ride."

The story of Landis' impending surgery first was reported Sunday by The New York Times on its Web site. The Times quoted an article on Landis that will appear in next Sunday's issue of The New York Times Magazine.

Phonak team manager, John Lelangue, has been aware of the injury since the beginning of the season and that he still has confidence in Landis' ability to perform.

Landis said he has the most pain during time trials — which forces him to change from a usual riding position — and when he climbs steep hills. Both of those disciplines are key to winning the three-week race.

Monday was the first rest day of the three-week Tour. The race resumes Tuesday with a flat stage from Bordeaux to Dax in southwest France.