I've gotten a few good posting opportunities over the last year or so from my good friend Ricardo Ricco, aka The Cobra. Imagine my shock then today to read that my favourite snake is no longer with us.
In an interview with Cycling News reporter, Daniel Friebe, Ricco announced to the world that The Cobra is dead. In his place we can expect a new, humble, honest, clean, cuddly Ricco. Maybe we should call him The Bunny Rabbit from now on.
According to the man himself he's turned over a new leaf. No longer will he be the aggressive, venomous, self centred cheat we all came to know and love. Now he's going to be a friendly, diplomatic, tolerant, all round good guy.
Do I believe him? Don't be silly! Of course not.
This is a guy who has shown us that there is no ethical limit he is not prepared to breach to get one over on his rivals. He has doped, he has lied, he has ridden roughshod over team-mates and, worst of all, he has abandoned his baby to avoid the taint of a doping case. Add to that the fact that the Italian police are investigating virtually his whole extended family as a doping ring.
We're all used to seeing witnesses credibility being questioned in TV courtroom dramas. What a field day they'd have with this guy. Credibility, what credibility?
Perhaps the most intriguing part of the story is the recent connection between Aldo Sassi and Ricco. Sassi is coach to several top riders, including Evans, Cunego and, recently, Basso. He has always insisted that he will not work with dopers. He has however said that he is happy to work with those committed to reforming themselves. Hence the Basso relationship.
Why would he want to risk his reputation on Ricco? Given Ricco's track record you'd have to think he's setting himself up for a fall. But here's the catch, Sassi has terminal cancer. He isn't expected to live past mid next year. My theory is that either he's not the saint he says he is but now has nothing to lose or he's taking a last gamble on the big one. What better legacy than being the man who reformed the unreformable.
How tragic will it be then that a man will die and have his memory inevitably tainted, either by Ricco's next fall or by posthumous evidence he's not been as innocent as he's always claimed.
I hope I'm wrong.
http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/riccardo-ricco-the-cobra-is-dead
Showing posts with label ricco. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ricco. Show all posts
Friday, 12 November 2010
Tuesday, 21 September 2010
Ricco/Rossi "family" hit the headlines again!
I don't know about you but I've been missing our favourite villain, Ricardo Ricco, recently. Apart from transfer gossip, his name's been missing from the headlines for too long. But fear not, because he's back in the news again. That didn't take too long!
Last week there was an easily missed story (here) quoting one of his new Vacansoleil team-mates saying that he was angry with our hero for not being a team player. Belgian rider Bjorn Leukemans accused Ricco of riding against him in the finale of the GP de Wallonie. According to Leukemans, Ricco rode with a chasing group to catch him on the final climb. Instead of winning the race Leukemans finished sixth behind Rabobank's Paul Martens, with Ricco coming in second. Was the ever-lovable Ricco getting revenge for Leukemans questioning before the race why the team had signed the Italian at all? He had told Sporza, "Riccò does not have a UCI point. I still wonder why the team would take a rider with no points."
But things have taken an even more exciting turn today. According to reports from Italy, Ricco's extended "family" are back in the doping spotlight. His former partners brother, and Ricco's former Flaminia Ceramica teammate, Enrico Rossi has been arrested as part of a doping investigation. Police arrested six people, including Rossi, a nurse, a pharmacist and an amateur rider. However that appears to be the tip of the iceberg. Reports suggest they are targetting up to 35 people suspected of dealing in drugs and stealing from hospitals. Apart from the six arrested, the group includes other pro riders, trainers, doctors and gym members.
Where this gets really interesting is that the police operation is codenamed "Operation Cobra-Red". Think about that! Cobra is Ricco's nickname, while Rosso is the Italian for red. Ricco hasn't been named in the investigation so far but that codename has to be more than a co-incidence, doesn't it?
Having chivalrously left the mother of his child, Enrico's sister Vania Rossi, after she was accused of doping because he didn't want it to affect his career (really!!), Ricco would be facing a lifetime ban if he was to be convicted of any more doping offences. What would we do for stories then!
Read more here, here and here
Last week there was an easily missed story (here) quoting one of his new Vacansoleil team-mates saying that he was angry with our hero for not being a team player. Belgian rider Bjorn Leukemans accused Ricco of riding against him in the finale of the GP de Wallonie. According to Leukemans, Ricco rode with a chasing group to catch him on the final climb. Instead of winning the race Leukemans finished sixth behind Rabobank's Paul Martens, with Ricco coming in second. Was the ever-lovable Ricco getting revenge for Leukemans questioning before the race why the team had signed the Italian at all? He had told Sporza, "Riccò does not have a UCI point. I still wonder why the team would take a rider with no points."
 |
| Enrico Rossi |
Where this gets really interesting is that the police operation is codenamed "Operation Cobra-Red". Think about that! Cobra is Ricco's nickname, while Rosso is the Italian for red. Ricco hasn't been named in the investigation so far but that codename has to be more than a co-incidence, doesn't it?
Having chivalrously left the mother of his child, Enrico's sister Vania Rossi, after she was accused of doping because he didn't want it to affect his career (really!!), Ricco would be facing a lifetime ban if he was to be convicted of any more doping offences. What would we do for stories then!
Read more here, here and here
Saturday, 24 April 2010
They haven't gone away you know
I'm torn this week. As someone who believes everyone deserves a fair crack of the whip, and who has never been a "throw away the key" type, I've always thought that once you've done your time you should be free to get on with it like anyone else.
So why does the final overall classification of the 2.1 ranked Giro Del Trentino stick in my craw so much?
Here's the top five:
What a list! You could reorder them like this:
Basso - banned for two years in 2007 for "attempted doping" revealed by Puerto case.
Ricco - banned for two years (reduced to 20 months) for CERA use in 2008 TDF.
Scarponi - banned for 18 months after admitting his part in Puerto case.
Vino - banned for one year in 2007 for blood doping in the TDF.
That leaves Pozzovivo as the only one of them not to have been caught cheating in the past few years.
Like I said they've all done their time so what's my problem? Could it be the total lack of remorse, or in three of their cases even admissions of guilt, that get's me so much? In a week that saw RadioShack rider Li Fuyu provisionally suspended for a positive A sample and several current and ex riders implicated in the HumanPlasma case in Austria, it has to be bad for the sport to have these guys filling the top spots in such a big event.
We can only be thankful that Valverde hasn't been going well in the Ardennes.
So why does the final overall classification of the 2.1 ranked Giro Del Trentino stick in my craw so much?
Here's the top five:
| 1 | Alexandre Vinokourov | (Kaz) Astana | 13:50:23 |
| 2 | Riccardo Ricco | (Ita) Ceramica Flaminia | 0:00:06 |
| 1 | Domenico Pozzovivo | (Ita) Colnago - CSF Inox | 0:00:42 |
| 2 | Michele Scarponi | (Ita) Androni Giocattoli | 0:00:44 |
| 2 | Ivan Basso | (Ita) Liquigas-Doimo | 0:00:56 |
What a list! You could reorder them like this:
Basso - banned for two years in 2007 for "attempted doping" revealed by Puerto case.
Ricco - banned for two years (reduced to 20 months) for CERA use in 2008 TDF.
Scarponi - banned for 18 months after admitting his part in Puerto case.
Vino - banned for one year in 2007 for blood doping in the TDF.
That leaves Pozzovivo as the only one of them not to have been caught cheating in the past few years.
Like I said they've all done their time so what's my problem? Could it be the total lack of remorse, or in three of their cases even admissions of guilt, that get's me so much? In a week that saw RadioShack rider Li Fuyu provisionally suspended for a positive A sample and several current and ex riders implicated in the HumanPlasma case in Austria, it has to be bad for the sport to have these guys filling the top spots in such a big event.
We can only be thankful that Valverde hasn't been going well in the Ardennes.
Tuesday, 6 April 2010
What's going on with Vania Rossi?
I know I said that this is getting like a gossip column with all the Ricco/Rossi posts lately, but events over the past week mean another post on the subject is unavoidable. However, this time it's not Ricco character flaws I'm interested in, but more the developing story of the Rossi's positive test.
Just to recap, following the Italian Cyclo-Cross Championships on January 10th, the A sample given by Rossi tested positive for CERA. The test was conducted by CONI and approved by WADA as legitimate. Rossi immediately protested her innocence, citing the fact that she is breast feeding her baby as a compelling reason why she wouldn't be doping. Rossi was provisionally suspended from racing on January 29th.
There then followed the pantomime shenanigans of Ricco, leading to him abandoning his partner and baby.
However, this week events have taken another twist. On Friday 26th March CONI posted news on it's website saying "In the B sample analysis for Vania Rossi, conducted in the period from March 29 to April 2, 2010, the minimum levels of CERA required to meet the World Anti-doping Agency's (WADA) criteria have not been found."
Despite this negative, anti-doping investigator Ettore Torre has announced that he will continue to investigate Rossi, with the possibility of an attempted doping charge still open. That could leave her facing up to a two year ban, along with a possible criminal sanction and even disciplinary sanctions by the Italian military, who she was representing on the day she tested positive.
But what does this all mean? To me there are two questions raised by this story.
1) How reliable were the tests?
According to reports the Rome lab is the first to detect CERA in urine, as opposed to the blood tests used to catch Rossi's partner and others. There appears to be a strong likelihood that CERA breaks down in urine very quickly. In this case there was a delay of almost 10 weeks between the tests. According to the head of the Rome lab "there was a significant amount of CERA in the first test, so much so that there were no doubts at all; in the second test, evidently because of the degrading of the urine over time, the amount (of CERA) wasn't within the limits established by WADA."
Given that the ability for the accused rider to conduct independent test on the same sample is a cornerstone of the dope testing process then surely this whole process is flawed? If indeed CERA degrades that quickly then the only options must either be to scrap this test as unreliable, stick to blood testing or design a new procedure which can be fast tracked while still ensuring the integrity of the process.
2) Could Rossi actually be innocent?
When I first wrote about this issue I did raise the question as to whether Rossi might be innocent. As a parent I know first hand how obsessed we can become to ensure nothing exposes our babies to potential harm. That's why I find Rossi's plea that as a breast feeding mother she'd be nuts to dope so compelling. Would a new mother really think it worth the risk so she could do well in the Cross nationals, a race she's won twice before?
Of course, on the other hand, she was living with Ricco at the time. As someone said it's hard to imagine they had different fridges in their house! His reputation as the most cynical and selfish of the pelotons many cheats inevitably casts a very big shadow over her.
However, no matter what we may think of the pair of them, no one will benefit from either a) a flawed testing process that cannot stand up to challenge or b) an injustice done to any rider. After years of struggling with the doping scourge we have to ensure that the possibility of a rider actually being innocent is still taken into consideration. It is a huge challenge to keep testing procedures up to speed with the ingenuity and recklessness of the doper but that can't be done at the expense of natural justice and the risk of destroying a clean rider.
And think of Vania's baby. It's bad enough that he will have to grow up the child of one confirmed doper. But now we run the risk of adding to that burden either the shame of another one or the bitterness of a miscarriage of justice. Poor kid!
Just to recap, following the Italian Cyclo-Cross Championships on January 10th, the A sample given by Rossi tested positive for CERA. The test was conducted by CONI and approved by WADA as legitimate. Rossi immediately protested her innocence, citing the fact that she is breast feeding her baby as a compelling reason why she wouldn't be doping. Rossi was provisionally suspended from racing on January 29th.
There then followed the pantomime shenanigans of Ricco, leading to him abandoning his partner and baby.
However, this week events have taken another twist. On Friday 26th March CONI posted news on it's website saying "In the B sample analysis for Vania Rossi, conducted in the period from March 29 to April 2, 2010, the minimum levels of CERA required to meet the World Anti-doping Agency's (WADA) criteria have not been found."
Despite this negative, anti-doping investigator Ettore Torre has announced that he will continue to investigate Rossi, with the possibility of an attempted doping charge still open. That could leave her facing up to a two year ban, along with a possible criminal sanction and even disciplinary sanctions by the Italian military, who she was representing on the day she tested positive.
But what does this all mean? To me there are two questions raised by this story.
1) How reliable were the tests?
According to reports the Rome lab is the first to detect CERA in urine, as opposed to the blood tests used to catch Rossi's partner and others. There appears to be a strong likelihood that CERA breaks down in urine very quickly. In this case there was a delay of almost 10 weeks between the tests. According to the head of the Rome lab "there was a significant amount of CERA in the first test, so much so that there were no doubts at all; in the second test, evidently because of the degrading of the urine over time, the amount (of CERA) wasn't within the limits established by WADA."
Given that the ability for the accused rider to conduct independent test on the same sample is a cornerstone of the dope testing process then surely this whole process is flawed? If indeed CERA degrades that quickly then the only options must either be to scrap this test as unreliable, stick to blood testing or design a new procedure which can be fast tracked while still ensuring the integrity of the process.
2) Could Rossi actually be innocent?
When I first wrote about this issue I did raise the question as to whether Rossi might be innocent. As a parent I know first hand how obsessed we can become to ensure nothing exposes our babies to potential harm. That's why I find Rossi's plea that as a breast feeding mother she'd be nuts to dope so compelling. Would a new mother really think it worth the risk so she could do well in the Cross nationals, a race she's won twice before?
Of course, on the other hand, she was living with Ricco at the time. As someone said it's hard to imagine they had different fridges in their house! His reputation as the most cynical and selfish of the pelotons many cheats inevitably casts a very big shadow over her.
However, no matter what we may think of the pair of them, no one will benefit from either a) a flawed testing process that cannot stand up to challenge or b) an injustice done to any rider. After years of struggling with the doping scourge we have to ensure that the possibility of a rider actually being innocent is still taken into consideration. It is a huge challenge to keep testing procedures up to speed with the ingenuity and recklessness of the doper but that can't be done at the expense of natural justice and the risk of destroying a clean rider.
And think of Vania's baby. It's bad enough that he will have to grow up the child of one confirmed doper. But now we run the risk of adding to that burden either the shame of another one or the bitterness of a miscarriage of justice. Poor kid!
Saturday, 20 March 2010
Riccardo Ricco - the snake! - Part 3
This week Riccardo Ricco returns to the peloton at the Coppi et Bartali race in the Emilia Romagna region of Italy. And, on the face of it, he finally appears to be showing some understanding of just what he's actually done.
"I made a mistake, I know, but I’m human, too and people make mistakes in life. I’m sorry. I want to apologise to all the cycling fans, cyclists, officials, journalists, everyone in the world of cycling. My errors are part of my past and from now on you’ll get to know a new Riccardo." he said this week.
But don't be fooled! This is the same snake who said of his CERA positive girlfriend (and mother of his baby), Vania Rossi (above): "I am disappointed with my girlfriend and there can be no reconciliation until Vania is shown to be innocent of the allegations that were raised". Pot, kettle, black?
But there is, hopefully, some good news. Giro D'Italia organiser, Angelo Zomegnan, appeared to rule out any return to this years race for Ricco and his team. Although he didn't mention any names he was quoted as saying “At the 2010 Giro d’Italia, there will be riders in quarantine. In the past we have put our faith in riders who didn’t deserve it, as time showed later on (Di Luca perhaps?). From this experience, we learnt that whoever has to be invited to the Giro will have to be patient for a certain period of time.”
Photo © Bettini
Tuesday, 2 March 2010
Riccardo Ricco - the snake! - Part 2
Just when you thought the Ricco/Rossi soap opera couldn't get worse the guy digs himself down even deeper into the mire. Now we can add delusion and desertion to his growing list of reprehensible traits.
Read this and, literally, weep: http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/ricco-believes-the-tifosi-are-on-his-side
Read this and, literally, weep: http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/ricco-believes-the-tifosi-are-on-his-side
Thursday, 18 February 2010
Riccardo Ricco - the snake!
I was all set to write a long rant on what a s**t Riccardo Ricco has shown himself to be in how he's handled the news that the mother of his child has tested positive for CERA, but Europeloton has done it for me. Read the post here:
http://www.europeloton.com/2010/02/riccardo-ricco-real-life-snake-but.html
One aspect of the issue that Europeloton hasn't mentioned is Rossi's defense that she's a breastfeeding mum so would be crazy to use CERA. If she's telling the truth then Ricco is truly a weasel, if she's not then I can't find a suitable word for what she is. Either way it's the child you have to feel sorry for!
In addition, if she is telling the truth, she has been done a very serious wrong and it would raise major questions about the whole system of testing. But given her choice of partner it's hard to believe her.
http://www.europeloton.com/2010/02/riccardo-ricco-real-life-snake-but.html
One aspect of the issue that Europeloton hasn't mentioned is Rossi's defense that she's a breastfeeding mum so would be crazy to use CERA. If she's telling the truth then Ricco is truly a weasel, if she's not then I can't find a suitable word for what she is. Either way it's the child you have to feel sorry for!
In addition, if she is telling the truth, she has been done a very serious wrong and it would raise major questions about the whole system of testing. But given her choice of partner it's hard to believe her.
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