Ricco

[ferryman]

Good riddance!

Indeed, but safe journey I hope into whatever lies ahead of him out of cycling.

 

[Le breton]

One of our times greatest talents, such a waste

How could they do that to him, I'm disgusted.
He should have been allowed to outdo Mauro Gianetti and die on his bike, say on the Martyrolo, during a Giro.

We would have blamed the doctors for being unable to save him.

Then his fans could have commissioned a greater than life statue of him erected at the summit, they would have written epic poems retracing his heroic life as a kitchen medicine genius and lighter than air cyclist.

Berlusconi's TVs would have been filled with series retracing the heroic life of the Ricco family, the distraught wife and the orphan baby.

We have been betrayed. The Cycling legend needs heroes, no matter how dark they maybe.

 

[BotanyBay]

Hopefully, Ricco will eventually recognize that someone saved his life tonight. Whoever made the decision was a real life saver.

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

Ricardo Ricco has transformed into Dario Pieri
http://www.gazzetta.it/gallery/Ciclismo/02-2012/riccardo-ricco/variabili-81431026440.shtml#

 

[Havetts]

Wow..

 

[ElChingon]

Might be a bad angle or a temporary case of the mumps. In the pic with Cipo he looks more normal. Still quite the change.

 

[Fetisoff]

How could they do that to him, I'm disgusted.

Dude, had something bad for dinner tonight? Relax.
Nobody says it's "their" fault, but you have to be pretty blind not to realize that he was a great talent. Whatever happened to him, he's only done to himself, nobody would deny that either. So just relax.

 

[Parrulo]

I don't see how anyone can say 12 years is just when the sport is filled with dopers and all the people connected with the sport still stick up for Armstrong. Slipstream is a team built with dopers from Team Postal and none of those riders are asking to be held accountable.

They all hate Ricco not because he doped but because he embarrassed the sport and was not humble enough to pretend he was sorry.

I completely agree with this.

Ricardo Ricco has transformed into Dario Pieri
http://www.gazzetta.it/gallery/Ciclismo/02-2012/riccardo-ricco/variabili-81431026440.shtml#

Damn Ricco it saddens me to see him like that.

I honestly like Ricco, yes he doped but is he any different then most of the peloton? Probably just not as smart as the rest.

As a bike racer he was something special and always gave the fans a great show which is something we can't say about 99% of the riders this days and as a character he was awesome with his arrogance and straight forward attitude, great for press. And say what you want but i prefer and assumed arrogant then a false humble person.

 

[crapna]

Reason to hate those damn bloodsuckers more than ever.

 

[RedheadDane]

Normally I'm very keen on people getting a second chance, and being allowed to return with a clean slate.
Ricco did get a second chance, and while I obviously can't speak for anyone else at least I believed him to be clean when he returned. Then he decided to try to give himself a blood transfusion.

It's a damn shame about him, of course I don't know how succesful he could've been clean (the only race I've ever seen him in was the 2008 tour and... well... I guess we all know about that one...) but who's to say he couldn't have made it far?
Also; what if he regrets? As in truly regrets? On one hand it would be a shame to have a guy who honestly regrets what he did banned from the sport. But on the other hand he could've just done it earlier; realized that what he was doing was not just wrong but also stupid. And how many second chances does a person deserve?
The thing he can do, if he truly regrets (a girl can hope) is to tell other young people to "Don't do what I did! Honestly; don't do it! You just ruin it for yourself." And then when his ban is over he could get a behind-the-scenes job at some team...

 

[Pantani_lives]

The terrible thing is that all the attacking climbers get banned: Rasmussen, Ricco, Contador... We will see another Tour with few attacking climbers...

 

[spalco]

^^
Good opportunity for "new" attackers to make a name for themselves though.

 

[Von Mises]

The terrible thing is that all the attacking climbers get banned: Rasmussen, Ricco, Contador... We will see another Tour with few attacking climbers...

So, maybe we now know the source of their attacking nature...

 

[roundabout]

Normally I'm very keen on people getting a second chance, and being allowed to return with a clean slate.
Ricco did get a second chance, and while I obviously can't speak for anyone else at least I believed him to be clean when he returned. Then he decided to try to give himself a blood transfusion.

It's a damn shame about him, of course I don't know how succesful he could've been clean (the only race I've ever seen him in was the 2008 tour and... well... I guess we all know about that one...) but who's to say he couldn't have made it far?
Also; what if he regrets? As in truly regrets? On one hand it would be a shame to have a guy who honestly regrets what he did banned from the sport. But on the other hand he could've just done it earlier; realized that what he was doing was not just wrong but also stupid. And how many second chances does a person deserve?
The thing he can do, if he truly regrets (a girl can hope) is to tell other young people to "Don't do what I did! Honestly; don't do it! You just ruin it for yourself." And then when his ban is over he could get a behind-the-scenes job at some team...

Good post.

I have been wondering whether Ricco made an effort to ride clean after his ban. Did he try to ride clean, but realized he doesn't have the talent, did he dope because he is just that sort of character who doesn't care about rules (even if he could have done well enough without doping)?

 

[rhubroma]

Good post.

I have been wondering whether Ricco made an effort to ride clean after his ban. Did he try to ride clean, but realized he doesn't have the talent, did he dope because he is just that sort of character who doesn't care about rules (even if he could have done well enough without doping)?

No more than his competitors. Riccò has clearly become the fall guy for a sport that has long since arrived at moral bankruptcy.

He was brazen and he was insupportably arrogant at times, but at least he wasn't hypocritical. That may not seem very redeeming for some, and neither does it provide justification for his sporting crimes, nor relieve him of his responsibilities for me; however, his tragic end doesn't exonerate either a sport riddled with hypocrisy and double-standards.

If anything it just goes to show how the UCI will feel as if it's conscience has been cleaned, because it was able to bring the necessary pressure to bear and get an inconvenient symbol of moral degeneracy ejected from the sport. Same goes with the Italian authorities who want to merely save face. And so they can declare themselves now to be satisfied and that this is a “happy day” for cycling that such a rogue will never again be a part of the peleton. This when there are a host of ex-dopers managing teams, fallen riders who have never admitted culpability for their crimes “rehabilitated” as if nothing had happened back in the bunch and winning races, and a UCI board filled with every kind of corrupt and mendacious hypocrite running the show beginning with its own commissioner. As if ostracizing a particularly notorious “bad apple,” will purify the worm infested orchard.

In the end, however, Riccò brought everything upon himself, and for this there is nothing to feel remorseful about.

 

[roundabout]

For me it's not so much a question of Ricco being better or worse than his competition (even if it seems that way from the words I used), but more about another bit of insight about the current state of affairs in cycling and the motivation of a rider to dope when the penalty is now a lifetime (esentially) ban and he is possibly shunned by all the doping docs so the risk of testing positive is even greater.

 

[rhubroma]

For me it's not so much a question of Ricco being better or worse than his competition (even if it seems that way from the words I used), but more about another bit of insight about the current state of affairs in cycling and the motivation of a rider to dope when the penalty is now a lifetime (esentially) ban and he is possibly shunned by all the doping docs so the risk of testing positive is even greater.

The thing is, though, I don't think it will be. The recrudescence of past misdeeds after being given his second chance, which almost cost Riccò his life, has had an emotional value in the punishment received, but I don’t foresee anything but business as usual in the future. Also because it seems as if the UCI would very much rather the business of a too-effective anti-doping go away. The embarassment of Contador’s case was a demonstration of this, which only further adds to the hypocrisy.

Riccò is no different than the others, however, the Italian verdict does establish a precedent that will probably send shock waves throughout Italy at least.

 

[Von Mises]

Riccò is no different than the others, however,

He is different - he got caught. And then he got caught second time. Btw, is it "no different than the others" very similar to Armstrong argument when he tried to convince Vaughters not to join Crédit Agricole. As it turned out and if we believe Vaughters, "they are all doing this" was a lie. CA was clean.

 

[rhubroma]

He is different - he got caught. And then he got caught second time. Btw, is it "no different than the others" very similar to Armstrong argument when he tried to convince Vaughters not to join Crédit Agricole. As it turned out and if we believe Vaughters, "they are all doing this" was a lie. CA was clean.

I'm saying that I don't believe the others who have gotten caught have not taken recourse to illicit methods again upon their return.

I'm also inclined to believe that if Riccò got caught a second time it was because he was left to his own, without the normal outlets of "support" to fall back on to avoid the near lethal problem he had with his blood.

I realize mine is a rather cynical position, but with this cycling I see no reason to think otherwise.

 

[BotanyBay]

Hopefully, Ricco will eventually recognize that someone saved his life tonight. Whoever made the decision was a real life saver.

Susan Westermeyer, the photo that you edited-out and deemed "inappropriate" was no worse that the cheesecake photos that CyclingNews now displays as part of their forum advertising.

 

[Susan Westemeyer]

I am not responsible for monitoring those photos. I am responsible for monitoring photos posted by forum users.

Susan

 

[killswitch]

Stokes :-
Ricco apparently had an exemption to the 50% limit from the time he was a junior...so likely doping since even then

Dirty Bertie apparently was also given an exemption after a couple of days of testing in a Lausanne lab several years ago (from Ashenden interview) - around the time Ricco got his.

 

[BotanyBay]

I am not responsible for monitoring those photos. I am responsible for monitoring photos posted by forum users.

Susan

But the very website you're monitoring is publishing photos that are no more innocent than the one I just posted (and far more often). Do you not take the same offense to the material being posted by CN? If so, why continue?

 

[zigmeister]

This isn't his first rodeo. Hence, they've had it with him. Get out.

But don't discount him. Look at Horner! Still strong at 40+yrs old.

 

[goggalor]

http://twitter.com/#!/riccardo_ricco/status/193404392840511489
http://twitter.com/#!/riccardo_ricco/status/193409413099433984
http://twitter.com/#!/riccardo_ricco/status/193410103104380928

Oh man I'd love a tell-all from Riccò.