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"I consider myself the winner of the 2007 Giro d'Italia. I was within the rules just like everyone else who didn't test positive."

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DANILO DI LUCA

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GIRO D'ITALIA

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09.05.2016 @ 10:00 Posted by Renaud Breban

Danilo Di Luca who has published an autobiography about his cycling career, told Cyclingnews that he still consider himself the winner of the 2007 Giro d'Italia and that he won races when he was clean.

 

In his book 'Beasts made for victory', he makes it clear that h does not regret anything even if his career was also dogged by numerous infractions, involving three separate suspensions in relation to doping : "If I hadn't doped, I would never have won. Doping improves your performance between 5 and 7 per cent, and maybe 10 to 12 per cent when you are in a peak shape. Doping isn't addictive but it's an instrument of power: whoever wins attracts the money; for themselves, the team and the sponsors. I wrote the book to tell my story, my truth. I was inspired by Andre Agassi's autobiography."

 

"It's not a book about just my doping, it also tells the story of my career, how I fell in love with cycling as a boy, it's also a very personal book because it reveals what happened in my personal life during my career. I've taken responsibility for what I did and stripped myself bare. I made the decision to be part of the system and to dope, when I turned professional, when cycling changed from a simple passion to become my job and the way I earned a living. I think I've been brave. I only talk about my doping and not what other riders did because I will never name other riders. I'm not a snitch", he told Cyclingnews. "Most of all it's a book about what I think is wrong with professional cycling. I wanted to reveal what is wrong with the sport because often that's what leads to riders doping. I wanted to show my former fellow riders that things need to change for their own good. The riders are considered the bottom of the heap but we really should be the most protected and most important part of the sport. The riders are used by the teams and sponsors to make money and so that's why I called my book 'Beasts made for victory'."

 

He claims that he was not doped throughout his entire career.. "I believe I deserved to win all the races I did, including the 2007 Giro d'Italia and I don't intend to give them up. The reason is simple: I won them. I doped during my career but not always. I won races when I was clean too, just as riders win clean or win with doping even now. When I won I underwent anti-doping controls and I respected the rules of the race at the time. (...) In 2007 I did 20 anti-doping controls and never tested positive. I consider myself the winner of the 2007 Giro d'Italia. I was within the rules just like everyone else who didn't test positive. When I tested positive in 2009 and 2013, I was banned and I accept that."

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