Varriale’s Case: Hard Reactions from the Pink Caravan

– Reported by Datasport – Translated by Daimeon Shanks –

Cippollini doesn’t want to comment, Garzelli upset, Pantani leaves veiled accusations …

Along the route of the pink caravan, the scourge of doping was at one point in line as well. The arrest of Antonio Varriale, a cyclist who is not contesting the Giro, has reopened old injuries from a year ago, those caused by the now famous San Remo blitz. The news is spreading among the team‚s hotels and is being commentated on with heartfelt tones, but also with anger. The director sportif of Ceramiche Panaria-Fiordo, Bruno Reverberi said: „One must change the culture and we need to control the young riders more‰. Along the same lines, Gilberto Simoni, winner of the Giro d‚Italia 2000: „The young do not need to resort to that to become professionals, it‚s enough to go better with other means. Doping doesn‚t count, in the professional world, talent and many other qualities are what count‰. Another who is decidedly in line with the inquest is Paolo Bettini. „Because the inquiries continue – says the Tuscan from Mapei, winner of two Liege-Bastogne-Liege‚s – they continue to find things, it‚s justice that continues. Obviously some don‚t understand. This time it‚s understood by Varriale, but it‚s all of cycling that must go this way. We would need to make a hard point and begin to separate the responsibility. The fact is that cyclists have been the most available to testing, and now they are paying the consequences‰.

The pink jersey, Stefano Garzelli, is upset: „It‚s a disgrace for the Giro to have begun this way however, it‚s justice that begins with the young riders and with the doping culture‰. One who doesn‚t support the argument is Mario Cipollini. „I don‚t want to say anything about it – said the Tuscan – I prefer to speak about cycling. I hope that not everything in the sport is lost below a news story. It‚s a cyclist who has been arrested for doping? In the world there are men who murder and those who donЊt need to murder, those who deal and those who don‚t need to deal‰.

The director of the Giro, Carmine Castellano sharpens his opinion: „When there is a doctor who steals or makes a mistake, it doesn‚t mean that all the doctors steal or make mistakes. Obviously there are some who don‚t comprehend the lessons. Something like this hurts cycling, certainly. But only in cycling is it that when there is a mistake, one says that everyone is a criminal‰.

Marco Pantani also commented on the situation: „One can‚t lump everyone together. Think of what happened to me, often times the tenacity is excessive‰. But then Il Pirata leaves a message that sounds like a veiled accusation at those who are in front of him in the general classification. With an enigmatic smile, he says: „Watching the state of the race a bit, those who the race interests the most, it seems to me that the non doped are beating the doped. This is very significant. It means that, maybe, to dope means to go slower but I don‚t think so‰.

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