Riccò provides his version of "the Truth"

[spalco]

^-- still liking the Cobra.

 

[Nick777]

He really is quite odd.

 

[ultimobici]

The granfondo scene is a perverse business, with mafia-like bribes and kickbacks. Are you kidding about the organizers being upset!? They probably hope the guy shows up at the next event to ensure an even greater turnout.

Not long ago, Rumsas was kicking a$$ in the circuit even after his pro career was "over." While being payed handsomely.

Difference was that Rumsas was actually a registered rider. Ricco snuck in and rode for someone who could benefit financially from his efforts. Lot of money on the GF circuit.

 

[Timmy-loves-Rabo]

pretty funny stuff.

Ricco is indeed on a bad road.

The guy will never make it back to the big boys.
Surely none of the big teams would touch him with a ten foot pole.

 

[goggalor]

I'm a huge Cobra fan, but like TSF I do worry that he'll end up like Pantani... though as far as I know there's been no reports of abuse of non-performance enhancing drugs by Riccò?

 

[El Pistolero]

50% chance this kid ends up like Pantani and Vandenbroucke.

 

[rhubroma]

Difference was that Rumsas was actually a registered rider. Ricco snuck in and rode for someone who could benefit financially from his efforts. Lot of money on the GF circuit.

Which is even worse. They allowed him to race and beat everybody.

 

[rickshaw]

i actually think the guy needs to completely break from cycling in any capacity. He has not got the mentality to be a DS so what is for him in cycling after he's finished racing, if he is not already finished? Dealing would be my guess.

You're saying he could join the family business?

 

[lancaster]

I feel the same. Too many similarities to previous stories. Pantani 34, VdB 34, Ricco's got 7 years to sort his **** out.

it's weird that the language filter doesn't let you use the word "L I F E".
how peculiar )

 

[craig1985]

Not sure if I can be sympathetic to RR, he has brought a lot of this onto himself.

 

[Benotti69]

Not sure if I can be sympathetic to RR, he has brought a lot of this onto himself.

in one sense he has but in another he knows no other way. like LA he has probably been doping since he was junior and as far as he is concerned everyone does it, so whats the big deal?

 

[Libertine Seguros]

What does that have to do with people's fear that he will meet an untimely end like Pantani? He may be a jackass but where is the evidence that he will spiral out of control and end up dead in a hotel room?

I was responding more to your final statement about him being picked out because of being unliked before he got banned, than to your previous statement about questioning whether he will end up like Pantani or Vandenbroucke.

 

[Escarabajo]

Rico has some mental issues that he needs to sort out. He needs help from his family and friends. Not those friends in the Grand Fondo.

 

[Damiano Machiavelli]

Rico has some mental issues that he needs to sort out. He needs help from his family and friends. Not those friends in the Grand Fondo.

Again, where is this coming from? He gets caught doing what everyone else is doing and that makes him mentally unstable? Instead of making up a bogus excuse like he gave into temptation once while recovering from injury, he laughs it off and refuses to pretend that he is sorry. That shows that he is a head case?

 

[spalco]

So, help me understand what's going on with Ricco now. He's not banned, is he, he's just "suspended"? Is there an ongoing investigation against him, some sort of legal action? Is he still training or has he given up?

 

[luckyboy]

He was suspended 'for health reasons' officially. But now the news is on CN that the suspension is extended until at least the start of September.

 

[VeloFidelis]

In a political climate where the current most competitively successful and professionally run cycling team, HTC Highroad cannot find a title sponsor willing to be involved in the marketing quicksand that is Pro Cycling, can there really still be any serious discussion about a dooochebag like Reccardo Ricco?

 

[spalco]

^^
I just have a problem with bending the rules to get rid of unwanted cyclists, even ones that have rubbed people as wrongly as Ricco has. If he tests positively or gets officially banned for doping some other way - fine. But this "medical suspension" stuff doesn't seem right to me.