After doping investigation disrupted his spring, Ballan is back
Former World Champion Alessandro Ballan is playing catch up this summer since a disastrous spring left him at home
The Italian told La Gazzetta dello Sport, “I’m angry.”
He is angry for his name being linked to the Mantova investigation and subsequently sitting out on important races, like Paris-Roubaix. He was later cleared, but he lost time.
“Incorrect things were written about me. I can understand BMC’s choice to protect its name, perhaps made even under the pressure of the race organisers. I am upset to have missed Paris-Roubaix, which has its special place for me.”
In early April, BMC Racing suspended Ballan and Mauro Santambrogio due to their possible ties with the Mantova investigation. They were linked from their time with team Lampre to the investigation based around Guido Negrelli’s pharmacy in Mantova, Italy.
BMC cleared Santambrogio in time to support Cadel Evans at the Giro d’Italia, but Ballan did not see the green light to race until late May.
“Ballan has fully cooperated with the Italian authority and has provided the investigation authority with all requested information and even more,” said BMC in a press release. “Apart of that, no sporting authority has opened a proceeding against Ballan so far.”
Ballan returned and placed third at the Italian Championships and two weeks ago, second behind Thomas Voeckler at the Tour de France stage to Bagnères-de-Luchon.
Now, the Tour of Poland. It is the same race where Ballan first won as World Champion last year. He took the overall lead with a win in stage five and kept it until the end.
“I am aiming to better last year’s result, win the overall and two stages,” he said with a laugh.
“I am doing well. At the Tour de France, I suffered at first because I had raced little this year, but then I ended well. I am here with good form.”
The Tour of Poland covers seven stages, 1256.5 kilometres. It starts today with a 175-kilometre stages for the sprinters, but it provides stages for Ballan on Wednesday through Friday.
“After Poland? I will race Hamburg, Tre Valli Varesine, Plouay, Quebec… I will skip the Vuelta a España. Worlds? I does not seem that it wil be an easy course. Franco Ballerini told me it is like the Tour of Flanders. So, how can it not be a good course for me?”