Renato Di Rocco stands behind decision to exclude former dopers from Squadra Azzura
The Court for Arbitration in Sport (CAS) decision to declare the “Osaka Rule”, which banned any athlete convicted of doping from competing in the Olympic Games that followed their suspension, “invalid and unenforceable” has left the Italian Cycling Federation (FCI) unmoved. This year the FCI introduced a policy that excluded former dopers from representing their country in any event, and its president Renato Di Rocco is determined to continue with it, according to tuttobiciweb.it.
“We will continue to not select former dopers,” Di Rocco told Italian news agency ANSA. “The maglia azzura is awarded at our discretion. We will continue with our project, which has changed the credibility of cycling, and has done well to make a generational change.”
The new policy meant that the elite men’s team that travelled to Copenhagen, Denmark for the World championships was without riders like Ivan Basso (Liquigas-Cannondale) and Michele Scarponi (Lampre-ISD), who were both suspended after their implication in Operación Puerto, Alessandro Petacchi (Lampre-ISD), who tested positive for excessive levels of salbutamol in 2007, and Davide Rebellin (Miche-Guerciotti), who tested positive for CERA in the 2008 Olympic Games.
The women’s team was also without 2007 World champion Marta Bastianelli (MCipollini-Giambenini), who tested positive for flenfluramine in the 2008 season, during her year in the rainbow jersey.
While many of the Italian sport’s established stars were excluded, a number of younger riders, including Elia Viviani and Daniel Oss (both Liquigas-Cannondale) and Sacha Modolo (Colnago-CSF Inox). Although Italy’s best finisher was Leopard Trek sprinter Daniele Bennati, in a disappointing 14th place, the FCI is patient enough to give national coach Paolo Bettini time under the new policy.
“[The CAS decision] changes nothing,” Di Rocco added. “There will be no changes on our part. We will continue with our logic. We have adhered to the rules of he IOC as done by the English [sic].”
The “English” policy that Di Rocco refers to is the British Olympic Association (BOA) by-law, introduced in 1992, that imposes an Olympic life ban on all convicted dopers. The policy means that, while David Millar (Garmin-Cervélo) was able to play a major role in delivering Mark Cavendish (HTC-Highroad) to Great Britain’s first elite men’s road World championship since 1965, he will be prevented from doing the same in London next summer.
Whether the CAS decision will mean that the BOA will be forced to reverse its policy remains to be seen, but if it does Di Rocco will have to look for another precedent to legally justify the FCI policy.