Investigation on Di Luca and Mazzoleni is gearing up...

DiLuca, Mazzonleni and several Italian athletics sportsmen will be summoned for hearings by the CONI antidoping unit in the coming week. It is now official on the gazetta website, read more here (in Italian, obviously).

Apparently the carabinieri got Mazzoleni on tape speaking to a doctor about 'special treatments' and also referring to DiLuca and Valverde in the same conversation.

There appear to be links between Oil for Drugs (as this investigation is referred to in Italy) and OP in Spain...

Also the results of the 'surprise' blood tests on DiLuca, Simoni, Ricco and Mazzoleni from the last week of Giro will not be available for another week. There is already talk, however, of the fact that Ricco has a naturally high hematocrit level...

 

We already knew that Ricco had a high HCT - he has an exepmtion from the UCI. How can it take so long to do these blood tests? Can't wait for the results - will they be live on Eurosport? Is DiLuca about to become the next Landis? Bike racing is just so exciting!

 

Here is the CNN article about it: http://edition.cnn.com/2007/SPORT/06/05/cycling.godefroot/index.html

 

How is this established? What is stopping someone from routinely using EPO during the testing period to show they have a "naturally" high HCT? I'm pretty sure that in Cunego's case they also tested his relatives. The way I read it someone at CONI has probably realized that it might be possible to scam this system and they are looking into it.

If you go back and read, it was Fuentes who provided the evidence to the Columbian Cycling Federation that Botero had naturally high T levels after he failed a test. That seems mighty suspicious to me.

 

I didn't say it was accurate or truthful, just that he had it. Maybe they ask his Grandparents to ride the Zoncolan and measure their output wattage?

 

They checked his historic hematocrit scores, and also check relatives, if I recall correctly.

 

So what you're saying is, his whole family is on the juice?

 

This isn't that surprising. Often when it is established that one has naturally high testosterone levels there is, directly tied to this revelation, an immediate decrease in one's bank account.

 

ROTFL.