Di Luca: Really? Come On.
Danilo Di Luca is the next in a long line of my favorite riders who have tested positive for banned substances. While some are more surprising than others, I have to say that at this point, I am a little surprised that the riders are still trying to get away with using drugs they know can be tested for.
Di Luca had already narrowly escaped the hangman’s noose for having irregular hormone levels in the 2007 Giro, but apparently he was still bold enough to use CERA despite several other riders already having tested positive.
At this point, with heads rolling for CERA left and right, one really has to wonder how you could be dumb – or desparate – enough to take it. It’s unfortunate that the rider who made the Giro one of the most exciting races ever has tested positive, but on the other hand I suppose that makes it less surprising.
So, there goes another Grand Tour Podium. Add to that the whirlwind of supsicion around Dennis Menchov regarding the use of the Humanplasma and we may see Pelezoti as Giro champ with Sastre and Basso rounding out the podium.
Oh I can’t believe this!(Please shout like Sam Kinison here), This should be huge news.
That cheatin’ fuck. I too liked Di Luca, I thought he was a real fighter. This makes some sense of his lack of results in the 2008 Giro interspersed with power rides in other years.
“But would I have been so stupid as to take Cera a year after Riccò, Sella, and Rebellin had been found out at the Giro d’Italia?” This was Danilo Di Luca’s response on the telephone to his suspension for doping by the UCI, as he travelled back to Pescara.
I would hope not. What’s italian for “idiot”?
Here’s a transcript of an interview Di Luca has just done (in Italian, but your choice of translator will do a decent job):
http://blog.cyclingpro.it/2014/01/21/di-luca-dopato-io-dopati-tutti-intervista-schock/
Highlights: his regret is getting caught and he believes 90% of the peloton at last year’s Giro were doped, with most of the rest only ‘clean’ temporarily as the race wasn’t a priority (his scare quotes), and that making the top 10 is impossible there with doping. As people said when it happened, maybe he’s one of the remnants of the old guard with this attitude, as I don’t think anyone would argue this was the case 10-15 years ago.