The dark days of doping return to Italian cycling

It was just one week ago when Vicenzo Nibali rode into Brescia to claim his maiden Giro d’Italia title and his second grand tour victory.  Nibali’s masterful and controlled race held many similarities to Wiggins’ victory in the 2012 Tour de France and his lead was rarely threatened once he claimed the ‘maglia rosa’.   His victory was so emphatic that it was held up as a symbol of hope for the renaissance of Italian cycling in the media.

Italian cycling was clearly on a high and the positive drug test of Danilo Di Luca was not going to rein down on those celebrations.

  

That was until Mauro Santambrigio became the second Italian cyclist to test positive to a banned substance.  He also became the second rider from Italian pro-continental team, Vini Fantini Selle-Italia, to test positive during the race. 

Santambrigio certainly rose to prominence in 2013.  He went from a domestique in BMC to a Giro stage winner.  But there were rumours in the peloton that all was not right from the very first stage with Santambrigio.  

It took 28 days from those rumours to become a reality.  

Santambrigio claiming victory.  But is was to soon.

Vini Fantini is lucky that they are not a World Tour team or they may be facing a large financial penalty for this second indiscretion.  Ag2R-La Mondiale is forfeiting its participation in the Critérium du Dauphiné after two of its riders failed drug tests in a 12 month period.  It was a self-imposed ban to escape a financial penalty levied under the rules of the Movement for Credible Cycling. 

Ultimately, Santambrigio could be responsible for sending the small Italian team to the dustbin of history.  Sponsors will now be thinking twice about remaining with Vini Fantini. 

Vini Fantini sports director Luca Scinto admitted it to Tuttobiciweb.it "Everything's finished, the whole project is finished".

“What do you want me to tell you, I'm distraught, I'm ruined. I defended him like no other rider before because from (the Giro start in) Naples there were awful rumours about him going around the peloton.”

Santambrigio now joins a long list of discredited Italian cyclists – Riccardo Ricco, Ivan Basso, Emmanule Selle, Davide Rebellion, Danilo Di Luca and Marco Pantani to name a few. 

So where does this leave Italian cycling now.  It is clear that the drug tainted era has not passed. 

The Italian authorities are not treating this doping problem seriously enough.  Bans are too lenient and do not provide a strong enough deterrent to riders to bypass hard work in their effort to get to the top.  This can explains why the Anti-Doping Tribunal of the Italian Olympic Committee reduced Di Luca ban from 2 years to 9 months for cooperation.  

One aspect that needs to be addressed is why it took 28 days for Santambrigio’s test results to be made public.  He failed his drug test during the first stage in Napoli.  Test results must be processed more quickly so these disgraced riders do not influence the race outcome. 

Doping still remains the scourge of cycling, which was shown by the reaction of the riders in the peloton after the news of Santambrigio broke.  

It must be stamped out.  But this will occur when the Italian anti-doping authorities finally take a serious stance on these cases.  That means giving a lifetime ban to Di Luca and banning Santambrigio for an extended period.  

Anything less and the renaissance of Italian cycling will be very short lived.

A change of race strategy must be the focus of Orica GreenEdge

When Orica GreenEdge entered the UCI World Tour last year they did it with a bang and with immediate success.  But it was quickness of its first victory that took everyone by surprise.  

Unlike Team Sky, which did not get its UCI World Tour victory until February, Orica GreenEdge secured its first World Tour victory at the Tour Down Under when Simon Gerrans took out the general classification jersey.  Success on the European continent was also not very far as Gerrans backed up his early season success by winning one of cycling’s five monuments – the Milan-San Remo – in a sprint finish against Fabian Cancellera and Vincenzo Nibali.  This early season success at a number of World Tour events also translated into victory at their debut Grand Tour when Matt Goss won stage three at the 2012 Giro d’Italia.  While there were no podium finishes at the Tour de France, Orica GreenEdge was back in the Grand Tour winning circle when Simon Clarke won the fourth stage of the Vuelta a Espana and then went on to win the mountains classification.

Overall, 2012 was an extremely successful first year for Orica GreenEdge.  The team managed to finished 12^th on Cycling Quotient CQ Team Ranking with 32 victories and 6^th on the UCI World Tour Team ranking.  In comparison, Team Sky finished its debut season also with 32 victories, but in 13^th spot on Cycling Quotient CQ Team Ranking.  If Team Sky is seen as the professional benchmark for all World Tour teams, then based on 2012 form, the future looked very promising for Orica GreenEdge.  

Fast forward to June 2013, Orica GreenEdge racing strategy seems to be in disarray as the team shows signs of second year syndrome.  Things were not helped when earlier in the year the Team suspended Matt White after it was revealed that he has doped while at US Postal Team with Lance Armstrong. 

As at 1 June 2013, the team has slipped to 14^th on the UCI World Tour Team ranking, some 650 points behind Team Sky, and 13^th on Cycling Quotient 2013 CQ Team Ranking.  While the team had secured 17 victories to date, four of those victories were in National or Oceania championships.  The 2013 Giro d’Italia was a failure for Orica GreenEdge, which set their team up around Matt Goss, attempting to replicate the previous year’s performance.  Goss withdrew on Stage 16 and the team left the Giro empty handed.

It is difficult to see where a grand tour victory will come from after analysing their Giro performance. In fact, if both Mark Cavendish and Peter Sagan head to the Tour de France, it is hard to see Goss, or any other Orica GreenEdge rider beating them.  Furthermore, Orica GreenEdge is unlikely going to match the likes of Team Sky is a team time trial or individual time trial.  Therefore, the rest of the 2013 season is not looking too bright for Australia’s first UCI World Tour team. 

I can understand why Orica GreenEdge focussed on stage wins in its debut season.  The team had to get immediate runs on the board to get exposure and secure a team sponsor, which it did when Orica, the Australian mining services and explosives company, came on board just before the Tour de France.  The new team also had to justify why it was given a World Tour licence at the expense of other established cycling teams. 

It was clear that 2012 success meant the team was going to follow a similar strategy in 2013– chase more stage wins rather than general classification jerseys.  The team brought in Michael Matthews from Rabobank to bolster its sprinting stocks.  A team that already had Goss, Howard, Alan Davis, Aidan Kruopis and Baden Cooke in their sprinting ranks.  

Team Sky objective was to deliver Britain’s first Tour de France winner.  It achieved that in three years.

With the lack of big wins in 2013 it is time for team management to re-assess their racing strategy. Orica GreenEdge should take a leaf out of Team Sky’s racing manual and develop a similar objective and shift its focus to securing general classification podium wins at one of the three grand tour events. 

But if Orica GreenEdge was serious about winning a grand tour it would have secured Richie Porte at all cost – the next likely Australian winner of a grand tour – rather let him re-sign for Team Sky in May.  Surely, it would not be too hard to convince Porte to switch teams given his limited chances at Team Sky because of the presence of Wiggins and Froome in the team. I am sure Porte’s manager would have held discussions with Orica GreenEdge.  Did Porte views his prospects were better staying at Team Sky?  He was likely concerned about the level of support that he would get from the team.  There are not many super domestiques in Orica which can drive the peloton like Team Sky. 

That leaves Orica GreenEdge to use its team resources to have a tilt at the general classification victory. It is often reported that Cameron Meyer is a future general classification winner.  It is time for the team to back Meyer and build a stage race around him, and not just around a sprinter like Goss or Howard. 

If Orica GreenEdge is going to compete against Astana, Team Sky, BMC or Movistar then it needs to develop a genuine general classification rider and build a squad around a rider to allow them to compete at the highest levels in a grand tour.  Orica GreenEgde is a long way from building the perfect grand tour team.

Fans are eager to see their heroes on the podium wearing the yellow jersey or the maglia rosa.  Not after one stage, but after 21 days of racing under the toughest conditions a grand tour can throw at them.

On the podium, but still not first

  

Unfortunately, this will not happen at Orica GreenEdge.  Not until the owner and team management shift their focus from stage wins to building a grand tour squad that can support a truly general classification contender.

Should Astana reassess Nibali’s race program?

Vicenzo Nibali left Liquigas-Cannondale (now Cannondale Pro Cycling Team) partly because he was driven to win his home Tour – Giro d’Italia.  Astana offered him the team leadership and chance to wear the ‘Maglia Rosa’.  It was not surprising that Nibali jumped at the opportunity as the presence of team captain, Ivan Basso, at Liquigas- Cannondale was clearly inhibiting his chances. 

Nibali had the prefect race preparation for the Giro and was a strong favourite even with 2012 Tour de France winner, Bradley Wiggins, and 2012 Giro d’Italia winner, Ryder Hesjedal, vying for the same honours.  He won the key lead up race – the Giro del Trentino, his second major stage race for the season after winning the Tirreno-Adriatico in March.

It was therefore not surprising that as the riders rode into Brescia on the last stage, it was Nibali wearing the ‘Maglia Rosa’.  The opposition had no answer to him.  He won the Stage 18 individual time trial to Polsa and powered away from this opponents in appalling weather conditions during Stage 20.  He also would have won Stage 14, but for an informal agreement with Mauro Santambrigio to help him pierce the opposition and break loose from Evans.  It was an extraordinary performance by Nibali. 

Nibali lifting the Giro trophy

We understand that Nibali will now take a break before re-commencing training to have another tilt at the Vuelta a España.  Nibali deserves a rest.  He has already raced around 46 days in 2013, traversing the world from Argentina, to Oman, back to Italy, before heading to Belgium and back again. 

But after winning the Giro so convincingly, I am sure Nibali must be reconsidering his race program to attempt the Giro-Tour de France double – a feat that has not been achieved since 1998 when compatriot, Marco ‘il pirata’ Pantini won it.  

Under normal conditions, Giro-Tour de France double would probably be unattainable, but 2013 is different.  Snowfalls left the Gavia and Stelvio mountain passes un-raceable as the organisers cancelled Stage 19.   While first three climbs of Stage 20 - the Costalunga, San Pellegrino, and Giau – were removed as inclement weather conditions made them too dangerous to descend.  Nibali therefore escaped the most punishing mountain passes that would have totally drained his energy levels.  The other advantage that Nibali has over his rivals is he now has three weeks of racing in his legs.  Only Evans can match that race fitness and Wiggins/Hesjedal retiring and Froome/Contador choosing different race programs. 

Astana do not have many potential general classification winners in their squad for the Tour.  Nibali is healthy.  He is in good form.  Surely these are the two characteristics that form the basis of winning the Giro-Tour de France double.  He also has the backing of a strong team.  A team that is capable of matching Team Sky. 

Astana should allow Nibali to give the Giro-Tour double a crack and make him team captain. 

Nibali may just prove that it is possible to win the double in an era that is not drug fuelled like the 1990s.

Did BMC choose their leader for the Tour de France too early?

Until the start of the Giro d’Italia three weeks ago in Napoli, there were significant speculation about who should be the team leader for BMC at the 2013 Tour de France.  Cadel Evans, the nature choice, struggled through his early races. He could not even rely on one of race strengths – the time trial – to lift his position on the general classification. Whereas, young lieutenant, Tejay van Garderen, was looking more and more like the anointed one with strong performances at Critérium International and Paris to Nice: the race to the Sun.

Five weeks from the start of the Giro, Evans announced to La Gazzetta dello Sport that he would be at the start line in Napoli.  "I’m going to ride the Giro. And I want to make it clear, I won’t be riding it for training but to get back to my best level” he told La Gazzetta dello Sport.  

Van Garderen must have had mixed feeling about this news - was Evans at the age of 36 years old capable of performing at the highest level in two grand tours or was it team management gently suggesting that Evans should focus on the Giro and leave the Tour de France to van Garderen? 

Selecting Evans to race at the Giro was a masterstroke.  By the fourth stage, Evans had moved into the top 10 on the general classification. Four stages later, Evans he was sitting in second spot, only 29 seconds behind Vincenzo Nibali.  He was in striking distance to wearing the maglia rosa. 

But it all started to unravel after Stage 10.  Cadel grip on second place was waning.  The distance between him and Nibali had widened.  Nibali and ex-teammate, Mauro Santambrigio (Vini Fantini), exposed a potential weakness in Evans with a classic one-two combined effort to the top of Bardonecchia.

Even with the time distance between Nibali and Evans widening, BMC’s team president Jim Ochowicz had full confidence in Evans.  Rupert Guinness (Fairfax Media) revealed that Ochowicz was favouring Evans for the Tour de France at the start of the 17th stage of the Giro from Caravaggio to Vicenza.  This was confirmed overnight in Cyclingnews when Ochowicz said “his team will enter the race with a fixed hierarchy - Cadel Evans as leader and Tejay van Garderen as his chief lieutenant”.

The leadership tension at BMC has filled many newspaper columns and internet pages over the last three months.  With van Garderen eventually winning the Tour of California, there was little chance that media speculation was going to decline without a strong statement by the BMC management. 

But did Ochowicz reveal his team selection too early?  

The moment that Ochowicz indicated Evans had ‘rock-solid leadership for the Tour on BMC’, cracks started to appear. Evans lost significant time during the second time trial from Mori to Polsa.  He came in 25^th place, 2 minutes and 36 seconds on Nibali.  Two stages later, Evans could not compete with Nibali, Uran or Scarponi on the final climb to Tre Cime di Lavarado, losing further time and lost his second spot on the podium. 

Evans’ performance at the Giro exceeded everyone’s expectations.  While we all knew he would be a top 10 contender, no-one expected him to secure a podium spot.   But should be the leader of BMC at the Tour de France?

Evan’s performance at the Giro confirmed two things – his time trialling abilities are not at the same standard as they were in 2011 and his dogged tenacity in the mountains is waning, leaving him exposed if he does not have team support.  

Whereas van Garderen showed in the 2012 edition of the Tour de France and at this year’s Tour of California that he has the ability to climb without team assistance.  He may be the only answer that BMC has to the Froome, Porte Wiggins Team Sky juggernaut when it comes to town.  

Ochowicz strong words of support for Evans before the Stage 17 start effectively meant that the BMC team leader could only be Evans.  If Ochowicz waited another 72 hours to see Evans’ campaign falter, we may have seen BMC select another team leader.  

Only time will provide the answer to this statement.

 

Has Cadel Evans conceded he can't win the Tour De France?

One of the features of the 2013 Giro d'Italia is a 55 kilometre time trial from Gabbicce Mare to Saltara.  It was a feature that attracted Bradley Wiggins as he attempts to win his second Grand Tour. Yesterday, another big name added his name to the race.

Cadel Evans revealed through La Gazzetta dello Sport (owner of the Giro) that he would again participate in the Grand Tour double - Giro d'Italia and Le Tour de France. Evans told La Gazzetta, "I'm going to ride the Giro. And I want to make it clear, I won’t be riding it for training but to get back to my best level".

The Giro has been a successful hunting ground for Evans after wearing pink in his Giro debut in 2002 and then again in 2010 after winning Stage 7 Carrara to Montalcino in wet and muddy conditions. However, the 2013 parcours provides Evans with what may be his last chance to win the Giro. The course is not as tough as previous years and the 55km time trial will give Evans an advantage of his greatest rivals like Scarponi, Nibali and Joaquim Rodriguez (if he rides the race).

Evans indicated to La Gazzatta that "BMC suggested doing it. My 2012 season ended with the disappointment of seventh in the Tour de France. The idea was to add an important race like the Giro to my programme. I thought about it and said yes. Getting some extra race days in my legs won't do me an harm at all."

However, we do not need to go back to far to realise how difficult it is to complete the Giro-Tour double, let alone win. The last winner of the Giro-Tour double was Marco Pantani in 1998.  Many riders have tried, but failed.

The last time that Evans attempted this feat was in 2010 where he neither won the Giro or the Tour.  In fact, while he finished a very competitive 5th in the Giro, but could only manage a disappointing 25th in Le Tour.

But that was three years ago.  Is it possible for a 36 year to be competitive in two of the most difficult bike races in the world?

Evans season to date has been mixed.  After finishing third in the Tour of Oman, his form has tumbled with poor results in the Tirreno-Adriatico and at the Criterium International.  Similar to last year's Tour, Evans ended up working for young American star Tejay van Garderen after a poor time trial at the Criterium International knocked him out of contention.

Evan's form in recent weeks must be concerning for BMC team management.  Team Sky has shown during the Paris-Nice and Criterium International that they will pound teams into submission by increasing the tempo until each team cracks.  If BMC is going to be a threat to Team Sky's defence of the Le Tour De France, then it needs to send it best team to both the Giro and Le Tour.  Asking a team to send out its number one rider to first compete against the Wiggins-led Team Sky juggernaut and then the Froome-led Team Sky juggernaut is the equivalent to cycling suicide.  Especially for a 36 year old whose form over the last 12 months has been declining.

I sense BMC management is also growing nervous about the ability of Evans to win the toughest race on the cycling calender.  World cycling is competitive both in terms of sponsorship dollars and race results.  A team cannot select a rider just because he won Le Tour two years before.  A rider must prove that he is the best or risk that the team will stop working for him during the race.  The selection of Evans to ride at the Giro may be the first signs that BMC team management is starting to strategically question who should be the No.1 rider at Le Tour in 2013.

A podium finish by Evans at the Giro may allow him to take the No.1 team spot to start line at Porto-Vecchi. However, a poor performance is likely to result in the baton being passed to the next generation at BMC to attempt to lift the trophy on the Champs-Élysées.  The next generation is Tejay van Garderen.  

Evans warming up before time trial at Grenoble - TDF 2011