Toothless ban sees rider able to return to racing on January 7th
Two days after Michele Scarponi was handed an essentially inconsequential three month suspension which will expire on December 31st, compatriot Giovanni Visconti has received a similarly toothless ban from the sport.
Both riders have been found guilty of having worked with the banned doctor Michele Ferrari in the past. Italian riders have been forbidden from working with him for the past decade, with a ban of up to six months possible. However Filippo Pozzato’s case earlier this year saw his lawyers highlight that the Italian cycling federation had committed an embarrassing oversight, with its list of suspended persons no longer including the doctor.
That enabled Pozzato to receive a ban of just three months in length, expiring September 18th, plus a fine of €10,000.
The same penalty was handed to Scarponi earlier this week and now to Visconti. The former Italian road race champion and current Movistar rider has been given a suspension running from October 10th until January 7th, meaning that he can begin his season without any interruption.
He’s also been given a €10,000 fine plus must pay legal costs of €1,000.
Ferrari has since been handed a lifetime ban by the US Anti Doping Agency, which other bodies are expected to follow and implement. It is not clear what sanction riders would now face for working with him.
He is understood to have played a key role in doping Lance Armstrong plus many others on the US Postal Service and Discovery Channel teams, as confirmed by multiple witnesses. He continues to deny this but, like Pozzato, Scarponi and Visconti, his protestations of innocence ring hollow.