Tag: Michele Scarponi

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Lampre Drops Scarponi

Lampre-ISD suspend Michele Scarponi - Michele Ferrari , Lance Armstrong, doping - Giro d'Italia 2011 winnerLampre-ISD has suspended Michele Scarponi, last year’s Giro d’Italia winner, for visiting Michele Ferrari the discredited doctor implicated in the sordid Lance Armstrong affair. Although Scarponi’s association with Ferrari pre-dates his time with Lampre the Italian pro outfit felt it a ‘violation of the internal code of the team…’ Scarponi had been somewhat forced into admitting his past involvement with the doctor after Italian sports daily La Gazzetta dello Sport published a report on a Padua-based investigation into Ferrari, who the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) accuse of helping to mastermind the Armstrong doping ring. For his part Ferrari continues to declare his innocence.

 

Scarponi has previously served an 18-month suspension after being implicated in the doping network of Doctor Eufemiano Fuentes in 2006 which was uncovered by Spanish police in their ‘Operation Mountain Pass’ investigation. Ironically the 2011 Giro d’Italia crown was awarded to second-place Scarponi after Alberto Contador was stripped of the title for doping.

 

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Homage to Catalonia

VoltaTriple Tour de France winner Alberto Contador has managed to both maintain and capitalise on the lead he established in last Wednesday’s Andorra mountain stage to bag another overall win at this year’s Tour of Catalonia with a time of 29:24:42. Italy’s Michele Scarponi (Lampre-ISD) finished in second just 23 seconds behind, whilst Team Garmin-Cervelo’s Dan Martin placed third at +35. The seventh and final day/stage of the Tour – Parets del Valles to Barcelona – was won by France’s Samuel Dumoulin with Sky’s Rigoberto Uran in second.

 

Yesterday’s win in Catalonia sees a continuation of an outstanding season for the Spanish rider – he has already scored a win at this year’s Vuelta de Murcia (Tour of Murcia) – despite the controversy over last year’s Tour de France failed drug test still rumbling on.

 

First held in 1911 – and won then as now by a Spaniard (Sebastià Masdeu) – The Tour of Catalonia (“Volta” Ciclista a Catalunya) was celebrating its Centenary edition this year – it’s the third oldest cycling stage race in the world just a year or two off the Tour de France (1903) and Giro d’Italia (1909).

 

For full results see: www.uciworldtour.com