So Franco Pellizotti’s now out of the Giro. The rumour mill went into overdrive today and within no time Pellizotti’s name came out. A shame but many will shrug and go “I suppose so“, it’s as if anyone at the top of the sport almost has to be up to no good unless they make vehement noises about doing it clean.
Three green bottles standing on the wall,
And if one green bottle should accidentally fall…
Sadly the noble presumption of innocence before guilt gets undermined by the constant stream of bad news. As a fan of the sport it’s like groundhog day, you keep reliving identical bad news stories. On the positive side more and more teams are throwing their weight behind riding clean, it’s not just the French, but others are appear to be going through the motions.
Media Fail
Think about it, this news could be spun as a triumph for the UCI. You’d hope President Pat McQuaid, chief medic Mario Zorzoli and new anti-doping boss Francesca Rossi would be hosting a press conference right now, bragging about catching several riders with this innovative method. You could almost imagine the riders in question stuffed and mounted, like hunting trophies or being perp-walked by UCI chaperones. But alas, the news has leaked out, the internet is ablaze and the UCI’s on the backfoot. Enrico Carpani, wake up.
Who’s next?
Pellizotti is not the only rider caught here. There are reported to be several riders here. Tuttobici says between five to eight riders will be named, including another Italian as well as a Russian, two Spaniards and a Slovenian rider. All this could drip out in the next few days. After Danilo Di Luca in 2009, this is the last thing the Giro needs…