New for 2015, GM Cycling Team will be taking on some of the older riders that had been floating around the Italian amateur ranks as well as some younger U23 riders. Being an Italian Continental team, they had to sully the team by hiring an ex-pnro rider that had multiple run-ins with the doping authorities. Alessandro Spezialetti was involved with the Oil for Drugs scandal and was arrested during the investigation. Some people would be pissed about this but I doubt anyone will at a fucking eye. Some shit will never change. This guy cheated and stole from his peers and yet, people think it is smart to give him influence over riders that could move up into the (true) pro ranks. If Brian Cockson did one more thing as the UCI master puppeteer, it would be to ban any rider who gets suspended for a doping violation from ever being able to be a team director or in any role that influences riders.
Other dopers (or doping masterminds) now directing or managing continental teams include...
Pavel Padronos - AWT-Greenway
Piotr Ugrumov - Itera-Katusha
Andriy Pryshchepa - Kolss Cycling (manager)
Aleksandr Kuznetsov - Lokosphinx (famous Soviet cycling director with the likes of Ekimov)
Mirco Lorenzetto - Roth-Skoda-Felt (named in wiretaps from Mantova investigation)
Mario De Clercq - Sunweb-Napoleon Games
Alberto Elli - Team Idea
Olaf Pollack - Team Stuttgart
This is just from a brief scan of about 15 minutes and could be even more expansive. I'm tired of people using the excuse of "it was a different generation". Fuck that. Doping should be unacceptable now. No more slaps on the wrists. If any rider dopes under the direction of Spezialetti, he should be stripped of command unless there is without a shadow of doubt that the rider as a lone wolf.
+ 1000. Glad to see I am not alone. You sometimes wonder !
ReplyDelete