The Ricco Case: A New Twist

“he “masquerades” wearing womens’ clothing and a wig in order to go unrecognized.”

We need photoshops of that…

A good story for Monty – our fashion style editor

or as nearly fully as my Italian can get:

New doping, old names. In the events that swept up Riccardo Ricco, positive for CERA (3rd generation EPO) at the Tour de France and self confessed offender, recurs one of the most talked about doctors, Carlo Santuccione. The Emilian (Ricco), in his confession before the CONI prosecutor, confirmed (fare proprio – if you can do better?) the name of the notorious doctor from Cepegatti, former councillor for sport in the commune of Abruzzo, in addition to being disqualified for 5 years (from 95 to 2000) by the Cycling Federation, then banned for life from national sport following the “Oil for drugs” inquiry by NAS. Always for doping matters. “He gave me the CERA,” these are the words of the rider, “He also asked me for 700 Euro that I have not given him and will not give, because he had guaranteed to me that it would never be discovered.” Ricco then spoke: he gave names, told precise circumstances. A brave contribution, [[di cui gli va dato atto]] and that represents an important turning point in the struggle against doping. There is no confirmation from Foro Italico, where yesterday Leonardo Piepoli was given a hearing, the roommate of Ricco summarily dismissed from his team together with the “cobra” of Formigine as is the custom in such cases. Pieploi denied every charge. Yesterday the CONI prosecutor took the first official measure against Ricco: he was suspended. Actually the letter from the French anti-doping agency regarding the positive at the Tour arrived. Regarding the reliability of the test (only two positive tests out of ten, complained the “cobra”), from WADA we learn that it is marked positive only when it is certain. And since it all depends on the concentration of the forbidden substance, there can be other tests up to the limit, or “border line” that are not declared positive. For the reassurance of the athlete. The rumours on the involvement of Santuccione in this event too are increasingly strong. “I knew that Ricco withdrew in spring near to the village where this doctor lives,” a well known expert on two wheels confided [to me] a while ago. And still today, despite his lifetime disqualification, certain groups in cycling have never left the roads of Cepagetti, the village in Abruzzo where the doping doctor works. “In order to not be recognised, they now disguise themselves with women’s clothes and wigs,” explained a “follower,” [suiveur – a very unusual word, not sure if there is any special significance] very well informed regarding affairs of the peloton. News that makes a pair along with the exposure of the “men in black,” that is targetted [di vaglia] cyclists seen training last summer at St Moritz, Switzerland, where another noted doping doctor works [this bit is all new to me. I didn’t realise that men in black was used quite so specifically. I have no idea who the doctor is]. Through the social divide[???], dressed only in anonymous black jackets and even with the name of the bicycle hidden with sticky tape. “Among these was also an azzurro who performed astoundingly at the Worlds in Stuttgart,” says Ivano Fanini, patron of Amore e Vita McDonalds. And so it would be Santuccione who supplied to Ricco the phial of CERA that the climber from Formigine injected himself with on wednesday, before the start of the Tour. One element that sould set off a new thread of inquiry, this time under criminal law. NAS has not confirm it, but nor has it denied. “We are always alert, we are working,” they make it known. But one thing is certain: They have never abandoned that track. A recent inquiry on Santuccione had also involved the azzurro Danilo Di Luca, sentenced to three months suspension for being a visitor [to Santuccione], an event that cost him the Worlds in Stuttgart. And the azzurro pole-vaulter Gibilisco, subsequently acquitted by TAS.

See notes throughout. Plus:

1) I’m not totally sure if he always uses azzurro to mean Italian, or if he is obliquely referring to the team strip of a certain German mineral water company.

2) For more on Gibilisco (and think carefully – do you really want to be an expert on doping in every sport in Beijing) see here.