Ricco Comeback Thread

[joe_papp]

things settling down???can't see that unfortunately.only one who can and MUST give ricco a home is his family.it's always the best place to go.

y'all know that i'm kind of recognised as an entertainment lover but there are limits.having a kid but still doing a transfusion on your own in your home while your cute fiance is supervising you is a no no for me.

i was and will remain an ulllrich fanboy forever.but i never wanted him back when he retired.it wasn't his place,he wasn't happy at all on the bike.he didn't deserve this whole circus.allways i imagined him living a quiet life as a farmer surrounded by a big family.you could read it in his eyes.on the other hand,riccardo's obsession with pro cycling can kill him.i hope he realize that he has a kid to grow and that's more important than winning races and piszing people off.as a fan,i'll never abandon him but he has to do the right thing.

+1 ... both regarding Ullrich and Riccò. It's a shame to see his comeback implode like this, but I wonder if he did not always expect to intertwine a dramatic end to his cycling career with a Pantani-like end to his existence. Who knows what goes through someone's mind...I don't really remember Riccò as a rider, in no small part because I wasn't following the sport that closely in 2008, for obvious reasons. Was he exciting to watch, or just crass and vulgar?

 

[jaylew]

Was he exciting to watch, or just crass and vulgar?

Yes, yes, and yes.

He really rubbed me the wrong way but I was still looking forward to watching him race this year. He definitely made the races he was in more exciting as he was a really good climber, came ready to compete for the win in most races he entered, loved to attack, and packed a mean sprint for a climber-type. Aah, but that mouth...he certainly didn't seem like the sharpest knife in the drawer.

 

[flicker]

+1 ... both regarding Ullrich and Riccò. It's a shame to see his comeback implode like this, but I wonder if he did not always expect to intertwine a dramatic end to his cycling career with a Pantani-like end to his existence. Who knows what goes through someone's mind...I don't really remember Riccò as a rider, in no small part because I wasn't following the sport that closely in 2008, for obvious reasons. Was he exciting to watch, or just crass and vulgar?

I remember that one stage in the Giro, I think it was Sella, Piepolli, Ricco Cadel Di Lucca. The camera panned to Ricco, he was in a tent towel around his neck he was fried. Ricco knew the camera was on him, he did not want it but he knew the camara was on him. He ignored the camera he was in the zone, Ricco was a tremendous athlete. I understand why he is loved, he is a passionate rider, extremely talented. I think he could have given Contador a run for his money.

 

[El Imbatido]

+1 ... both regarding Ullrich and Riccò. It's a shame to see his comeback implode like this, but I wonder if he did not always expect to intertwine a dramatic end to his cycling career with a Pantani-like end to his existence. Who knows what goes through someone's mind...I don't really remember Riccò as a rider, in no small part because I wasn't following the sport that closely in 2008, for obvious reasons. Was he exciting to watch, or just crass and vulgar?

I remember that one stage in the Giro, I think it was Sella, Piepolli, Ricco Cadel Di Lucca. The camera panned to Ricco, he was in a tent towel around his neck he was fried. Ricco knew the camera was on him, he did not want it but he knew the camara was on him. He ignored the camera he was in the zone, Ricco was a tremendous athlete. I understand why he is loved, he is a passionate rider, extremely talented. I think he could have given Contador a run for his money.

@Joe Papp
Yes Ricco was very exciting to watch. Much in a way like Contador he wanted to be aggressive and attack. If he knew he had someone in the hurt zone he would go. I do agree with you in regards to Pantani, it seemed as though at times he was exactly like Pantani.

@Flicker
I believe you are thinking about the 2008 Giro and the lotto rider would have been Jurgen Van den Broeck not Evans. I think he finished about 6th or 7th overall and behind plenty of dopers as well. Contador, Ricco, Sella, Menchov, Di luca, Pellizotti etc etc (Jesus - just looking back at that race it is 'Dopers 'r' us)

 

[Frosty]

@Joe Papp
Yes Ricco was very exciting to watch. Much in a way like Contador he wanted to be aggressive and attack. If he knew he had someone in the hurt zone he would go. I do agree with you in regards to Pantani, it seemed as though at times he was exactly like Pantani.

@Flicker
I believe you are thinking about the 2008 Giro and the lotto rider would have been Jurgen Van den Broeck not Evans. I think he finished about 6th or 7th overall and behind plenty of dopers as well. Contador, Ricco, Sella, Menchov, Di luca, Pellizotti etc etc (Jesus - just looking back at that race it is 'Dopers 'r' us)

Going O/T and its clinic material really but whatever happened to the 2008 Giro retests for CERA? The last i heard was that there were 6 or 7 possible positives. Admittedly some of these could well be accounted for by people who have since tested positive, ie Ricco, Sella, Rebellin, but have they vanished?

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/2008-giro-six-to-seven-possible-cera-positives

 

[Ryo Hazuki]

Going O/T and its clinic material really but whatever happened to the 2008 Giro retests for CERA? The last i heard was that there were 6 or 7 possible positives. Admittedly some of these could well be accounted for by people who have since tested positive, ie Ricco, Sella, Rebellin, but have they vanished?

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/2008-giro-six-to-seven-possible-cera-positives

in the retests I believe only sella was positive on cera

 

[Libertine Seguros]

I remember that one stage in the Giro, I think it was Sella, Piepolli, Ricco Cadel Di Lucca. The camera panned to Ricco, he was in a tent towel around his neck he was fried. Ricco knew the camera was on him, he did not want it but he knew the camara was on him. He ignored the camera he was in the zone, Ricco was a tremendous athlete. I understand why he is loved, he is a passionate rider, extremely talented. I think he could have given Contador a run for his money.

But he was also capable of saying things like "Anybody who's watched this race can tell you, he [Contador] didn't deserve to win. I did", and unleashing a flurry of invective at Emanuele Sella (hardly the most sympathetic character in the world) because Sella was trying to protect his GC place riding on the front on Monte Pora when Riccò and di Luca were off the front, and Riccò decided it was a conspiracy against him to keep Contador in the maglia rosa (which they managed by just 5 seconds).

Riccò was more than likely an immense natural talent who just didn't have an "engage brain" switch.

 

[The Hitch]

But he was also capable of saying things like "Anybody who's watched this race can tell you, he [Contador] didn't deserve to win. I did", and unleashing a flurry of invective at Emanuele Sella (hardly the most sympathetic character in the world) because Sella was trying to protect his GC place riding on the front on Monte Pora when Riccò and di Luca were off the front, and Riccò decided it was a conspiracy against him to keep Contador in the maglia rosa (which they managed by just 5 seconds).

Riccò was more than likely an immense natural talent who just didn't have an "engage brain" switch.

But in other sports characters like this are universaly loved.

Jose Narcisinho for example has said similar things about deserving to win when he loses, extreme egomaniacal comments about being special, totaly off the reservation comments about omlets or muslims right to pray, and he gets treated as a genius and the greatest tactician in human history since Hannibal.

John Mcenroe was similarly unable to find that "engage brain switch". Has won himself 30 years of commentary and newspaper gigs since as a result.

In boxing, behaving like this is a requirment in order to sell more ppv boxes for the fight.

If its wrong to behave like this, i dont like that a cyclist like Ricco is hated for it, while others are encouraged.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

But Hitch - there are two factors that add to that:

1) characters in other sports who behaved like that divide audiences. Many people hate José Mourinho, what he stands for and his tactics. Many people disliked McEnroe.

2) cycling is a pack sport, not an individual or small team sport. There are multiple teams of people competing at any one time. If McEnroe annoyed his opponent, so what? Just beat him and move on to the next guy, if you're better than them they can't do anything about it. If Riccò annoys his opponents, they CAN do something about it - they can work together against him. If he's ostracized he doesn't have the ear of the world's press because the sport is relatively small.

And if you behave like that and then it turns out you were a fraud, well, god help you.

 

[Ryo Hazuki]

But in other sports characters like this are universaly loved.

Jose Narcisinho for example has said similar things about deserving to win when he loses, extreme egomaniacal comments about being special, totaly off the reservation comments about omlets or muslims right to pray, and he gets treated as a genius and the greatest tactician in human history since Hannibal.

John Mcenroe was similarly unable to find that "engage brain switch". Has won himself 30 years of commentary and newspaper gigs since as a result.

In boxing, behaving like this is a requirment in order to sell more ppv boxes for the fight.

If its wrong to behave like this, i dont like that a cyclist like Ricco is hated for it, while others are encouraged.

ricco isn't hated. he is/was one of the most popular riders in italy and had the biggest fanclub in italy. don't buy the internet hate hype

 

[flicker]

But he was also capable of saying things like "Anybody who's watched this race can tell you, he [Contador] didn't deserve to win. I did", and unleashing a flurry of invective at Emanuele Sella (hardly the most sympathetic character in the world) because Sella was trying to protect his GC place riding on the front on Monte Pora when Riccò and di Luca were off the front, and Riccò decided it was a conspiracy against him to keep Contador in the maglia rosa (which they managed by just 5 seconds).

Riccò was more than likely an immense natural talent who just didn't have an "engage brain" switch.

Riccos' trash talk towards other riders, some riders are not gracious, I can overlook that. Ricco was an extremely talented rider. I guess the common sense switch was turned off as far as his choice of program. It seems common here for the same thing to happen to football players transitioning from High School to College, much self destructive behavior.

 

[Jamsque]

ricco isn't hated. he is/was one of the most popular riders in italy and had the biggest fanclub in italy. don't buy the internet hate hype

He may not have been hated by the fans, but he was FAR from popular in the peloton.

 

[jens_attacks]

how i said... i won't judge him but i know that he did some pretty big terrible mistakes.running from the afld vampires but got caught in a traffic jam was one of them,that day was the beginning of the end.and after that, snitching all the doctors around him just for a reduction of the ban but still remaining in the business.why the hell do you thing the quickstep doc refused him?he didn't trust cobra,no one from the pro cycling world does anymore.

i agree that he was one of the biggest talents i've seen in pro cycling but we all know that's not enough for survival in this world.being completely nuts doesn't help either.

 

[forty four]

But in other sports characters like this are universaly loved.

Jose Narcisinho for example has said similar things about deserving to win when he loses, extreme egomaniacal comments about being special, totaly off the reservation comments about omlets or muslims right to pray, and he gets treated as a genius and the greatest tactician in human history since Hannibal.

John Mcenroe was similarly unable to find that "engage brain switch". Has won himself 30 years of commentary and newspaper gigs since as a result.

In boxing, behaving like this is a requirment in order to sell more ppv boxes for the fight.

If its wrong to behave like this, i dont like that a cyclist like Ricco is hated for it, while others are encouraged.

there are plenty of us who deeply despise arrogance and ego based behavior in athletes or anyone for that matter i find it child and kinda pathetic just shows insecurity else where. the generally more classy intelligent athletes are more careful with there words. hence i always like ulrich so much more than lance just a better attitude.

 

[jens_attacks]

Riccò released from hospital
http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/ricco-released-from-hospital

thanks god he's ok.nothing matters more than that.i hope he will make the right decision for him and his family.

 

[hrotha]

Good to hear. I thought he was still in intensive care so it's a nice surprise to see he's been released altogether.

 

[Ryaguas]

Riccò released from hospital
http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/ricco-released-from-hospital

thanks god he's ok.nothing matters more than that.i hope he will make the right decision for him and his family.

I'm so glad that He's ok!!!
but at the same time I'm so sad for his career...

 

[Yeahright]

I'm so glad that He's ok!!!
but at the same time I'm so sad for his career...

This is meant as a joke right??

The guy is a lying, cheating scumbag. The fact that his stupidity was almost terminal does little to change that.

Thank goodness that his undoing came before the season started or we would have been subjected to the charade for another season.

In the words of Frank Sinatra: "And now the end is near, and so I face the final curtain..." I for one am happy that the curtain is down on Ricco and good riddance.

 

[Parrulo]

This is meant as a joke right??

The guy is a lying, cheating scumbag. The fact that his stupidity was almost terminal does little to change that.

Thank goodness that his undoing came before the season started or we would have been subjected to the charade for another season.

In the words of Frank Sinatra: "And now the end is near, and so I face the final curtain..." I for one am happy that the curtain is down on Ricco and good riddance.

if you are indeed editor in chief that post is highly inappropriate.

 

[Susan Westemeyer]

if you are indeed editor in chief that post is highly inappropriate.

That is simply a forum user "title" and has nothing to do with the news section of the website.

Susan

 

[Yeahright]

if you are indeed editor in chief that post is highly inappropriate.

editor in chief?? Thats a bit out of left field.

 

[Anonymous]

This is meant as a joke right??

The guy is a lying, cheating scumbag. The fact that his stupidity was almost terminal does little to change that.

Thank goodness that his undoing came before the season started or we would have been subjected to the charade for another season.

In the words of Frank Sinatra: "And now the end is near, and so I face the final curtain..." I for one am happy that the curtain is down on Ricco and good riddance.

not a joke at all.

some of us have compassion for a man who almost died. and, much as you are towing the line that it was his own stupidity that caused it, it is all just hearsay -- we don't know what happened.

and your choice of quoting the Frank Sinatra song is quite distasteful. Ricco may have been released from the hospital, but an infection of the heart is never not serious. the complications can linger and/or leave permanent damage.

i hope he does fully recover.

and i will miss him on the bike, too. he was one of a handful of characters that was never dull to watch. with Ricco, anything could happen and it often did.

 

[Michele]

It seems that Riccò wrote on his facebook something like "read the newspaper is like reading gossip magazines - you make me laugh, jounalists ha ha ha the revenge must be served cold".

Sounds like he's a bit lost.

 

[Ryaguas]

Snip..

No joke... Saying that Riccó is a doper and the peloton is clean is just stupid... I'd prefer to see 19827318273918273918273 times a jerk like Riccó who always gave spectacle and made lots of attacks than an idiot "mama's boy" like Andrew or people like Wiggo (who never attacks) or The pope (although He's a great rider is rly boring to see) and like them many more...

But anyway... even If he is cleared of the charges He will be blacklisted...

 

[Ferminal]

Ricco to Team Chicken?