Riccò admits to doping
The Italian ANSA news agency has reported that cyclist Ricardo Riccò, who tested positive for a new form of EPO, following the 4th stage of the Tour de France, has admitted to having doped in preparation for the French tour.
According to ANSA, the former Saunier Duval rider made the admission at a hearing before the Italian Olympic Committee (CONI) on Wednesday.
The 24-year-old Riccò, who won two stages at the Tour before exiting the race for testing positive for a new product known as Continuous Erythropoietin Receptor Activator (CERA), was called before a CONI panel on Wednesday.
"Speaking to the anti-doping prosecutor, I took full responsibility for my actions,” Riccò told ANSA. “Prior to the Tour, I made a mistake; I took a product that everyone was talking about.”
Riccò said he made the decision to dope independently and took the drug outside of the auspices of his team.
"It was my error alone and because of this I refused the option to have my B sample tested," said Riccò. "My thoughts are with my team because of me some could have lost their jobs.
"I'm thinking also of my teammates who, because of me, could not continue their adventure in the Tour de France."
"I've come before the anti-doping prosecutor to lift a weight off my shoulders because I feel guilty and I need to apologize to my fans," he added.
Riccò learned of the positive before the Tour’s 12th stage and subsequently questioned by French police. Riccò faces a two-year ban from the sport and could still face criminal charges in France for possessing and using a “poisonous substance,” under that country's tough new sports doping laws.
Riccò was the third rider to test positive for the drug at this year’s Tour after Spanish riders Moises Duenas (Barloworld) and Manuel Beltran (Liquigas) also tested positive for CERA. Unlike the Liquigas and Barloworld teams, Riccò’s Saunier Duval team withdrew from the race, raising questions about the winning performance by the squad’s Leonardo Piepoli on the Tour’s 10th stage.
While Riccò's positive was hailed a sign of the rigor of the Tour's testing protocol, the rider said he wasn't convinced.
"During the Tour they took a lot of samples (from me), they made 10 tests in about 13 stages, two were positive and in fact in theory all the tests should have been positive therefore the method needs to be checked," he said.
Both Riccò and Piepoli were fired by the team within a day of the positive test. The French Anti-Doping Agency has not yet released test results for Piepoli.
Since the Riccò controversy, the team’s title sponsor has withdrawn from the sport but the squad will continue to operate under the joint sponsorship of the Scott-USA bicycle company and Mexican meatpacker, American Beef, based in Chihuahua. The company supplies patties to Burger King, one of its primary customers, and to Wal-Mart and Costco under various brand names.
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