CyclingQuotes.com uses cookies for statistics and targeting ads. This information is shared with third parties.
ACCEPT COOKIES » MORE INFO »

GIRO D'ITALIA

RACE PROFILE
|
NEWS
16.11.2014 @ 16:59 Posted by Joseph Doherty

Three doctors and a UCI official who examined Marco Pantani’s anti-doping test in the 1999 Giro d’Italia will be heard in court in the coming weeks as part of a case that involves Mafia gangs fixing sport.

 

Pantani was thrown out of the Giro that year while wearing the Maglia Rosa due to having a high haematocrit level.

 

The medics reject claims of foul play and told La Provinca newspaper in Como, “We did everything according to the rules.”

 

Forli’s public prosecutor, Sergio Sottani, opened the case this summer to see if Pantani was wrongfully removed from the race and he has called in several people to help him, such as career criminal Renato Vallanzasca, who says a fellow prisoner warned him against betting on Pantani, saying “Anyway, that bald-headed rider won’t make it to Milan.”

 

Pantani was comfortably in the lead with just two days to go but UCI official Antonio Coccioni headed a team of medics who carried out drug tests for Pantani and discovered he had a haematocrit of 51.9%, 1.9% over the limit and he had to take an automatic two week suspension. Doctors from the Sant’Anna Hospital in Como – Eugenio Sala, Michelarcangelo Partenope and Mario Spinelli – performed the haematocrit test. Spinelli has since retired, but Sala and Partenope continue to work at Sant’Anna.

 

“The [testing] machine used was the one required by the UCI,” Sala and Partenope told La Provinca. “We took the results to the sports director, Giuseppe Martinielli, and the team’s doctor, Roberto Rempi… The reading was above the limit and meant that the cyclist had to stop."

 

“On the same afternoon, the police seized our equipment. We were under investigation for aggravated fraud, but then an expert opinion confirmed the validity and fairness of our work.”

 

“We entered Pantani’s room that morning, withdrew 2.7cc of blood and put it in a bag that was used to carry samples, as the rules required,” they said.

 

“We’ve worked at the Giro d’Italia, the Tour de France, the Vuelta a España, the World Championships. In 1999, our team already tested Pantani at the start in Agrigento and then a second time midway through the Giro.”

 

Pantani did return to achieve success; taking two stages in the 2000 Tour de France but his career and life were on a downward spiral and he died of a cocaine overdose on Valentines’ Day in 2004.

 

MORE NEWS:

VIEW SELECTED

Bycykling 101: Navigering i byens gader og cykelvenlige... 27.11.2023 @ 12:11The Best Danish Cyclist To Bet On At 2022 Tour De France 13.01.2022 @ 15:262022 Upcoming Tournament Overview 03.01.2022 @ 09:45Best Place to Find Stand-Up Paddleboards 16.06.2021 @ 08:16What are Primoz Roglic’s Chances to Win 2021 Tour de Fr... 17.03.2021 @ 08:37Amazing victory by young champion Sarah Gigante 04.02.2021 @ 14:21Three reasons why cycling is one of the best ways to ex... 28.09.2020 @ 12:03Why do businesses use meeting room managers? 14.09.2020 @ 13:42Five things that you can do, if you want to gain more f... 20.08.2020 @ 15:38One for the road 09.06.2020 @ 15:25List of CyclingQuotes previews 07.05.2020 @ 13:20Blue Energy: room for all interests 26.08.2019 @ 12:56Get your daily dose of exercise at home 08.07.2019 @ 10:443 good advice to be able to afford your favorite bike 25.02.2019 @ 12:32Cycle through gorgeous landscapes 22.10.2018 @ 21:41Balance Your Economy and Diet and Start Saving Money 08.10.2018 @ 11:18Stay Safe: 3 Helmets That Can Keep Your Head Protected... 20.07.2018 @ 07:59Planning to bet on Tour De France - Bet types and strat... 24.05.2018 @ 14:18Basics of cycling betting 25.10.2017 @ 13:10Bauer moves to ORICA-SCOTT 28.08.2017 @ 10:45End of the road for CyclingQuotes 08.01.2017 @ 16:00Rui Costa confirms Giro participation 07.01.2017 @ 12:55Van Avermaet: I am not afraid of Sagan 07.01.2017 @ 09:45Unchanged course for E3 Harelbeke 07.01.2017 @ 09:32Jenner takes surprise win at Australian U23 Championships 07.01.2017 @ 08:53No replacement for Meersman at Fortuneo-Vital Concept 06.01.2017 @ 19:14Barguil with two goals in 2017 06.01.2017 @ 19:06More details about French Vuelta start emerges 06.01.2017 @ 14:16Kristoff to start season at Etoile de Besseges 06.01.2017 @ 14:10Ion Izagirre announces schedule for first year at Bahrain 06.01.2017 @ 12:40JLT Condor optimistic for Herald Sun Tour 06.01.2017 @ 09:19Haas leads Dimension Data trio in fight for Australian... 06.01.2017 @ 09:15Sagan spearheads Bora-hansgrohe at Tour Down Under 06.01.2017 @ 09:12Henao and Thomas lead Sky Down Under 06.01.2017 @ 09:09Bauer crowned New Zealand TT champion 06.01.2017 @ 08:33Van der Poel ready to defend Dutch title 05.01.2017 @ 21:00Pantano ambitious for first Tour with Trek 05.01.2017 @ 20:41Landa with new approach to the Giro 05.01.2017 @ 20:36Sunweb Development Team sign Goos and Zepuntke 05.01.2017 @ 20:27Dumoulin confirms Giro participation 05.01.2017 @ 20:19Bauer targets victories in Quick-Step debut 05.01.2017 @ 20:16Gaviria and Boonen lead Quick-Step in San Juan 05.01.2017 @ 20:13Team Sunweb presented in Germany 05.01.2017 @ 20:09ASO take over major German WorldTour race 05.01.2017 @ 11:01Team Sunweb unveil new jersey 05.01.2017 @ 10:54Reactions from the Australian TT Championships 05.01.2017 @ 08:27Dennis defends Australian TT title 05.01.2017 @ 08:21Scotson takes back to back U23 TT titles in Australia 05.01.2017 @ 08:15Utrecht on track to host 2020 Vuelta 04.01.2017 @ 18:28Pre-season setback for Talansky 04.01.2017 @ 17:56Kristoff: It's not impossible for me to win in Rou... 04.01.2017 @ 17:49Boom close to first cyclo-cross win in LottoNL debut 04.01.2017 @ 17:40UAE Abu Dhabi make late signing of Arab rider 04.01.2017 @ 17:36UAE Abu Dhabi unveil new jersey 04.01.2017 @ 17:30BMC unveil race schedule 04.01.2017 @ 17:21

Currently no news in this list

Denas MASIULIS
25 years | today
Christophe PREMONT
35 years | today
Michel SUAREZ
38 years | today
Jay DUTTON
31 years | today
Holger SIEVERS
56 years | today

© CyclingQuotes.com