Andrea Piccolo's EF contract terminated, HGH/Sleeping pills

[zlev11]

i wonder if the team caught him with something else along with the sleeping pills at Paris-Nice, he did not start the 6th stage and then didn't race again until the Giro. THAT is classic Vaughters, trying to pull a fast one where nobody who wasn't born yesterday can't see right through.

i also dont think it's that weird that the team sent him to the Giro, they probably just had to fill out the team.

 

[QueenStagiaire]

I bet Willy Voet was just trafficking Festina's pharmaceutical goodie bag for sh*ts & giggles back in 1998 as well.

Well, I don‘t think Willy Voet was taking the HGH…

 

[awavey]

i wonder if the team caught him with something else along with the sleeping pills at Paris-Nice, he did not start the 6th stage and then didn't race again until the Giro. THAT is classic Vaughters, trying to pull a fast one where nobody who wasn't born yesterday can't see right through.

i also dont think it's that weird that the team sent him to the Giro, they probably just had to fill out the team.

But most teams contractual rules would be pretty clear cut on something that a rider was doing that was likely to get a NADA or the UCI interested.

The sleeping pill thing seems like a distraction to make you avoid asking the obvious questions as to why he was really benched. How does a team know you've taken a sleeping pill, and why do they care if it's legal anyway ?

It's not a known masking agent I presume, so there feels like there's more to this, especially as it seems like it was a tip off that led to him being caught.

 

[Extinction]

Another little fish caught in the anti-doping net. Always the small fish though.

 

[Rob5091]

https://escapecollective.com/ef-fires-andrea-piccolo-after-rider-reportedly-caught-with-hgh/
"EF manager Jonathan Vaughters said that the team had no knowledge of ITA’s investigation but that it had shared general (not doping-specific) concerns with the UCI after the March incident."

Yep, tip off from EF.

 

[Armchair Cyclist]

Only way he gets out of this is if his Colombian GF takes the blame and says it was her HGH, to help her stay in shape in the gym.

Still, if she confesses (while he pays her fine) he'll probably get away in the end.

We are all hoping that the Onlyfans girlfriend comes into play at some point, just because it would be a phenomenal addition to the best doping excuses thread.

Well, no one said he was taking HGH. Just trafficking it.

Two points/questions, first, where I live guys have got off for murder by blaming each other for the crime. If the two of them try that defence then it's word against word ...

Not really going to get him off the hook:

WADA Rules
2.6 Possession of Prohibited Substances and Methods:
2.6.1 Possession by an Athlete at any time or place of a
substance that is prohibited in Out-of-Competition Testing or a
Prohibited Method unless the Athlete establishes that the
Possession is pursuant to a therapeutic use exemption granted
in accordance with Article 4.4 (Therapeutic Use) or other
acceptable justification.

 

[shadowrider]

Well, the UCI got their normal pre-Tour bust, to say "Hey, we're tough with dopers!"
Nope, there's more to this story, like it sounds it was the police in Italy not the anti-doping guys. How did they know Piccolo had anything illegal on him and where did he get it from?
The whole "sleeping aid" story is full of holes and why send a guy to the Giro if you want to fire him.

Edit - an afterthought, what's the odds that EF themselves tipped off the police? If they wanted to fire him for a "legal sleeping aid" then what's there to stop an "anonymous tip" to the police? Better then trying to explain to the UCI how they know he's doping. Also, it all has happened very quickly as the EF post says Piccolo was stopped only yesterday? (21st June).

Well, it indeed seems certain that it was the team itself that informed the police and the Italian anti-doping.

 

[Rob5091]

Strange text that he sent to Vaughters, which first said about the 4 medications and taking responsibilty and then saying he's never tested positive ... so, it sounds like he'll plead guilty on transportation and that's it.

 

[Samu Cuenca]

Well, I don‘t think Willy Voet was taking the HGH…

Wasn't there a story about Fignon testing positive for Amphetamine despite the fact he had swapped urine with a mechanic/soigneur in order to avoid it?

 

[awavey]

Strange text that he sent to Vaughters, which first said about the 4 medications and taking responsibilty and then saying he's never tested positive ... so, it sounds like he'll plead guilty on transportation and that's it.

Technically that is all he is guilty of in law, assuming proved etc and all that, though I understood from some of the reports, possession is equivalent to a positive test for it in UCIs eyes. So it's irrelevant in terms of cycling, which is probably why EF can act how they did, even if by general law it might be different situation

 

[Bolder]

I bet Willy Voet was just trafficking Festina's pharmaceutical goodie bag for sh*ts & giggles back in 1998 as well.

Someone’s gotta be the mule.

But seriously, why not just dope in Colombia? Not like he’s going to get caught there.

 

[Rackham]

Someone’s gotta be the mule.

But seriously, why not just dope in Colombia? Not like he’s going to get caught there.

I don't know.

I just know when a pro cyclist or someone working with pro cyclists is caught with very obvious doping products (like human growth hormones), it's a bit like pulling over a Sicilian immigrant in 1920's Chicago & noticing he's wearing very expensive shoes, has a tommy gun on the backseat, a suitcase full of money, a crate of whiskey & oh yeah there's a corpse in the trunk of his car as well.

I mean something smells fishy.

 

[Mayomaniac]

Someone’s gotta be the mule.

But seriously, why not just dope in Colombia? Not like he’s going to get caught there.

He was already training there during the off-season, so it seems a bit of a no-brainer to me...

 

[Nick2413]

Teams probably have very specific doping protocol and he was caught by the team not adhering to it so they dumped him. I’m sure Carapaz, Bettiol, Powless, and Healy are all clean though.

 

[pastronef]

"Bissegger has the lowest CoA of any cyclist we know"
"Mark Padun has the biggest engine I've ever seen"
"Pierre Rolland was using 1970s training methods on Europcar"
“Andrea Piccolo is the best talent in Italy.”

Someone get this cycling terrorist out of here, he's absolutely clueless.

clueless about what his riders are doing.

 

[Tim Cahill]

clueless about what his riders are doing.

Yes I suppose the one saving grace here is that EF obviously aren't running any team doping silliness, not that I thought they were anyway.

 

[pastronef]

I thought this too but it's so unlikely that prosecutors accept it. WADA love a bizarre excuse, but I think italian police/prosecutors get a bit of a hard-on when they get the chance to arrest someone semi famous.

there are probably 34 people who know who Piccolo is here in Italy. arrest someone semi famous? ahah

 

[pastronef]

Joking aside, it was targeted by the italian testing agency, not just a random Carabinieri customs check. I don't know if they were tipped off or his results had been a bit dodgy or smth, but I can't see him getting out of it.

ITA, in this case, does not mean Italian. it means International testing agency

 

[zlev11]

apparently he was found with 4 "medicines"

EF fires Andrea Piccolo after rider reportedly caught with HGH - Escape Collective

EF Education-Easypost terminated the Italian's contract with immediate effect after he was reportedly stopped at an airport and found with the banned substance.

escapecollective.com

In a text message to Vaughters, written mostly in Spanish with a few words in Italian, Piccolo expressed remorse while admitting he had been subject to a search. “Jonathan te hablo con sinceridad porque ya perdi todo y soy consapevole de esto… Lleve desde colombia 4 medicinales que me uno no quiero hacer nombra quiero tomarme mi responsibilidad en esto…” Piccolo wrote. “las encontraron y me la sequestraron en aeropuerto…” [Translated: Jonathan I speak to you sincerely because I have already lost everything and I am aware of this… I have taken four medications from Colombia that I do not want to name, I want to take my responsibility for this… They found them and confiscated them at the airport.”]

will be interesting to see what else he had on him, maybe this will finally reveal what everyone has been on the last 4 seasons that's made them go so fast.

 

[Ripper]

Another little fish caught in the anti-doping net. Always the small fish though.

Yup. We've seen what happens more recently when they catch a big fish though.

But it is not a big deal. Only the little fish are doping. The big fish just have all that natural talent and good training to tear out 7 w/kg levels day after day.

 

[Rob5091]

Yup. We've seen what happens more recently when they catch a big fish though.

But it is not a big deal. Only the little fish are doping. The big fish just have all that natural talent and good training to tear out 7 w/kg levels day after day.

Altitude camps you know, altitude camps.(oh and 120g carbs per hour).

 

[Ripper]

Altitude camps you know, altitude camps.(oh and 120g carbs per hour).

And all the salbutamol you can handle

 

[proffate]

A good foot soldier will fall on the grenade for his general

 

[Sciatic]

We are all hoping that the Onlyfans girlfriend comes into play at some point, just because it would be a phenomenal addition to the best doping excuses thread.

Excellent point!!

 

[Bolder]

Yup. We've seen what happens more recently when they catch a big fish though.

But it is not a big deal. Only the little fish are doping. The big fish just have all that natural talent and good training to tear out 7 w/kg levels day after day.

I think what we're also seeing here with Piccolo is the difference between how the elites dope and how marginal riders do it. The best of the best don't get sloppy, whereas riders like Piccolo just sort of wing it. At the very least, if you're going to try to bring PEDs into Europe from Colombia, try mailing to an intermediary at the very least.