Ricco's comeback

RobFowl

Seems to be coming apart...


cyclingweekly Cycling Weekly



Italian cycling federation suspends Riccardo Riccò. No Tour of Serbia for him on Monday (from @GregorBrown)

RobFowl

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/ricco-suspended-by-italian-cycling-federation
emporarily suspended from racing over health concernsThe Italian Cycling Federation has announced that it has temporarily suspended Riccardo Riccò from competition, citing concerns over the rider’s health.
A statement from the FCI on Wednesday morning said that the federation’s Health Commission, presided by Dr. Luigi Simonetto, had recommended “suspending the athlete Riccardo Riccò from competitive activity for reasons related to the health of the athlete himself.”
Riccò was hospitalised with a serious kidney ailment in February of this year and was subsequently sacked by his Vacansoleil-DCM team. Last week, he signed for the Meridiana-Kamen Continental team and was planning to return to action at the Tour of Serbia on June 13.
When contacted by Cyclingnews on Wednesday morning, Riccò said that he had not been informed of his suspension.
Modena public prosecutor sends documentation to CONI
Before the announcement of Riccò’s suspension, Gazzetta dello Sport reported on Wednesday morning that the Italian Olympic Committee (CONI) had received documentation related to Riccò’s February illness from the public prosecutor in Modena.
It is understood that CONI anti-doping prosecutor Ettore Torri forwarded the data to a haematologist on Tuesday afternoon in an attempt to establish whether Riccò’s condition had been caused by a blood transfusion. Torri was set to request an immediate precautionary suspension for Riccò if evidence of a transfusion was confirmed.
At the time of his hospitalisation in February, Riccò allegedly confessed to a doctor in Pavullo that he had undergone a transfusion with blood that had been stored in his domestic refrigerator for 25 days. The Italian later denied making such a confession.
However, according to Gazzetta’s Luigi Perna, the doctor in Pavullo confirmed his version of events to investigators and said that Riccò was fully conscious at the time of the alleged confession.
Riccò was requested to appear before the Modena public prosecutor Pasquale Mazzei on Monday and again tomorrow, but on each occasion the rider refused to present himself.
A full analysis of all of the medical data related to Riccò’s kidney blockage on behalf of the Modena investigation is expected to be completed before the end of the month. The late Professor Giovanni Beduschi of the University of Modena had been charged with the task but his death last month has delayed proceedings. His colleague Sabino Pelosi, the haematologist Marco Marietta and gastroenterologist Erica Villa are now examining whether Riccò’s illness was caused by the transfusion of incorrectly-stored blood.
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ednwireland

how / why did that team sign him :rolleyes:

unbeleivable anyone would touch him after recent events

bcmf

ednwireland wrote: »

how / why did that team sign him :rolleyes:

unbeleivable anyone would touch him after recent events

Well I and probably many others never heard of Meridiana-Kamen Continental team before this Ricco epsiode so in terms of Marketing it is in a way 'Mission:Accomplished'

ednwireland

bcmf wrote: »

Well I and probably many others never heard of Meridiana-Kamen Continental team before this Ricco epsiode so in terms of Marketing it is in a way 'Mission:Accomplished'

good point

Chips Lovell

Latest antics:

Riccardo Riccò is back in the headlines in Italy after sneaking into a sportif ride on Sunday to help his friends achieve a better result.

The Italian Olympic Committee suspended Riccò from any form of competition on June 11 after obtaining evidence from the police investigation into the causes of his acute kidney failure in February.

According to one of the event organisers who did not wish to be identified, Riccò joined the 163km Gran Fondo Prologo-Giovanni Lombardi after 10km, appearing from behind a house. He then helped his friends by working to close the gap on a group of breakaway riders.

He's like a cartoon villain at this stage.

happytramp

“I signed a contract but after three days the (Italian Cycling) Federation and the CONI (Comitato Olimpico Nationale Italiano) blocked my comeback. I think they’re using double standards and that Ricco’s sentence has already been decided.”

Is this a typo, or is he actually talking about himself in the third person?