Riccardo Ricco 'performed stale blood transfusion on himself

[Ross]

http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/brea ... 6003328579

AN Italian cyclist was being treated in the hospital after reportedly giving himself a "stale" blood transfusion.

Riccardo Ricco became ill during a training session Sunday and told doctors in Modena, northern Italy, that he had self-administered a blood transfusion using a three-week-old sample, Italian newspaper La Gazzetta dello Sport reported.

The cyclist's father was quoted in La Gazzetta di Modena as saying his son has suspected kidney failure.

The Vacansoleil-DCM team the 27-year-old rides for issued a statement saying that Ricco would be fired if claims of doping were proven.

"The team is aware of the rumors surrounding Riccardo Ricco, indicating that he admitted to self-administering a blood transfusion," it read.

"But the team does not have sufficient knowledge of relevant facts to make a judgment at this stage. The team has a zero tolerance policy on doping. Any riders and crew who contravene the rules will be fired," the statement added.

The Italian Olympic Committee was investigating the matter.

Ricco was previously banned from the sport for 20 months after testing positive for a blood booster during the 2008 Tour de France.

[rkelsen]

How is anyone supposed to respect professional athletes with this sort of nonsense going on?

[sogood]

Stale meaning bacteria overgrown blood and renal failure. That is so stupid!!!

Is it really entrenched doping culture or is the occupation pressure so great to cause all these? Very sad for the individual as well as for the sport.

[jules21]

apparently he's barely literate and dropped out of school at an early age. he's just not a very cluey guy. hopefully he wakes up to himself after this.

[goneriding]

apparently he's barely literate and dropped out of school at an early age. he's just not a very cluey guy. hopefully he wakes up to himself after this.

Unlikely! He clearly didn't learn anything from his ban for EPO so it's highly likely this won't either. It's a shame because he'll likely get another ban and we'll never get to see what he was really capable of.

Sad really.

[jules21]

yeah, well, he's facing a life ban. even if he convinces the UCI that it wasn't caused by doping (seems unlikely), i'm guessing they could still potentially deny him a pro license due to unexplained renal failure.

[herzog]

What a silly sausage.

And this is why they need first time permanent bans from the sport. A 1-2 year ban makes this stuff worth the risk.

Any idiot who does this should cop:
1. Permanent ban.
2. Repay any sponsorship $ and prizemoney

[JV911]

EPIC FAIL

[jules21]

for sale: fridge, slightly dodgy temperature control, would best suit as storage for non-perishable items. pick up only, after it is returned to me by the carabinieri.

[goneriding]

Perhaps he got the blood bag confused with the pomodoro sauce?

[Mulger bill]

You'd think the one thing he would learn to read would be use by dates.

[sogood]

You'd think the one thing he would learn to read would be use by dates.

Probably DIY job and he missed that "Enter Use by Date" step.

[MichaelB]

Vaconsoleil did well with a couple of their star signings...... Ricco & Mosquera.

poor buggers, hope this doesn't mean that the team folds/loses their sponsors

[Fletcher]

Vaconsoleil did well with a couple of their star signings...... Ricco & Mosquera.

poor buggers, hope this doesn't mean that the team folds/loses their sponsors

Meanwhile Geox, complete with Menchov & Sastre didn't even get a Pro Tour licence.

..and yeh, Ricco. What a plonker...

[jules21]

Meanwhile Geox, complete with Menchov & Sastre didn't even get a Pro Tour licence.

this says a lot about how serious the UCI really are about combatting doping.

[Chuck]

Meanwhile Geox, complete with Menchov & Sastre didn't even get a Pro Tour licence.

this says a lot about how serious the UCI really are about combatting doping.

Agree. I don't think Landis' claims re LA and the UCI are all that outlandish.

[toolonglegs]

Landis will give all the money he gets back from his "whistle blower" suit of course.
Cobra...

[Dr_Mutley]

Stale meaning bacteria overgrown blood and renal failure. That is so stupid!!!

or significantly hemolysed

[shiv]

Meanwhile Geox, complete with Menchov & Sastre didn't even get a Pro Tour licence.

this says a lot about how serious the UCI really are about combatting doping.

Considering they have rules banning anyone caught for doping offences from racing in a Pro Tour (now World Tour) team for 4 years after the sanction starts, yet Basso, Vinokourov, Ricco, DiLuca etc are all allowed back in as soon as their time is up. Not doing themselves any favours by bending the rules to suit themselves.

[gauchoracer]

The rules are set out in the relevant document for all to read**
(**The promoter, and anyone else, reserves the right to change, ammend, forfeit, bend, and outright ignore these rules at any time, without notice, or explination, at the discression of the promoter, governing body, or the 2nd cousin of the abovementioned or anyone they know...**)
Everyone just follows the rules...