The Cobra defanged

20 April 2012 | 12:00 - By Philip Gomes

Today Riccardo Ricco was drummed out of professional cycling by Italian authorities but I take no pleasure in seeing the “Cobra” defanged for life.

ricco_640_sirotti_1138789028

Riccardo Ricco at the 2008 Tour de France (Sirotti)

In fact sadness is the feeling. For him and the blatant double standards that exist in the sport.

Sure there may be degrees of doping. From the young first timer to the hard men that see doping as a fact of life. Ricco clearly exists at the sharp end of that spectrum but did he deserve a life sentence? The ultimate scapegoat, the treatment of whom knows no limits because he is unpopular. Most likely he has doped like many who retain status and admiration in cycling. I can’t help but feel the same. In fact that was my first thought on hearing the news this morning of a 12-year ban for Ricco (effectively a life ban) which came after the announcement of an admission of guilt by Denis Galimzyanov who was pinged this week by the anti-doping authorities for EPO use earlier this season.

And lets not get into the detail of Galimzyanov’s odd handwritten “confession’ because that incident has left us with more questions than answers.

And then I thought of the hypocritical comments from one of the guys who does retain status and admiration in cycling, Erik Zabel, former sprinting mentor to Mark Cavendish at HTC-Highroad and now Denis Galimzyanov at Katusha.

Followed up by another. Sergeant Schultz style:
Don’t come back? This from a guy who remains gainfully employed and respected in the sport? That's a bit rich. Erik knows nothing, nothing at all.

I’ve always viewed Riccardo Riccardo as a kind of whipping boy for all that ails professional cycling. And I sometimes think he is hated more by fans for his unrepentant recidividist attitude than his doping transgressions. In fact Zabel and others prove the case.

Maybe if Ricco had admitted to doping “just that one time” like Zabel and others have done before he’d be well on the road to redemption and racing in May’s Giro d’Italia and may be forgiven (but not forgotten) by fans for utterly ruining the 2008 Tour de France, along with his Saunier-Duval team.

I hope the still young Ricco will see this as a blessing and an opportunity to get on with his life, one that can easily be lived without cycling. And maybe Erik Zabel should also join him on the sidelines.

Share article: 
top

Comments (8)

28 Apr 2012 7:58 AEST

Bikcus

From: Ashgrove

Isn't that the actual point of the article? Ricco is treated like a pariah, yet others - you say Riis, Gomes points to Zabel - did the same, but still have their reputation intact.

Agree (0 people agree)    Disagree (0 people disagree) Report this
 

21 Apr 2012 12:06 AEST

jules

From: melb

and my point is, ricco had an easier choice, and chose to go down that path. plain stupidity. he probably could have been successful riding clean.

Agree (3 people agree)    Disagree (0 people disagree) Report this
 

21 Apr 2012 1:38 AEST

Khalid

From: Sydney

One of the few riders that actually made the race interesting. Sad to see him go. Nothing will ever beat his superb attacks in 2008, made the others look like they were going backwards, others who were and probably still are on the same 'prep' as The Cobra. Ah I'll miss him.

Agree (5 people agree)    Disagree (19 people disagree) Report this
 

20 Apr 2012 18:38 AEST

Malcolm

From: Robe

I think Ricco could have been suspended for one year, then been allowed to ride with the same gearing as juniors for the next eleven years,and been forced to drink at least 12 short blacks before each race,with no nature stops.

Agree (7 people agree)    Disagree (3 people disagree) Report this
 

20 Apr 2012 13:35 AEST

jules

From: melb

i disagree philip. it's not that ricco is being treat harshly, it's that guys like Riis can be allowed to run a pro team! you should be writing an article on how that could have been justified.

Agree (15 people agree)    Disagree (1 people disagree) Report this
 

20 Apr 2012 13:29 AEST

Wheelsucker

From: Bentleigh

The fact that Ricco was dumb enough and selfish enough to not only dope once, but twice, excludes him from any sympathy. As for Zabel, just another ex-rider, ex-self admitted drug cheat that should be seen in the same light as Ricco. The only way to clean up the stench of drugs in cycling is to get rid of all the riders, managers and others that have had direct dealings with drugs.

Agree (15 people agree)    Disagree (4 people disagree) Report this
 

20 Apr 2012 13:29 AEST

Mal

From: Croydon Hills

Phil, you're on the wrong tram. No pity for him, nothing. If the "others" in the peleton have been overlooked, they'll eventually be caught. Trying to weave Denis Galimzyanow into the story is pointless. He's been caught, fessed yup and ready to do his. Whether Ricco is hated by the fans are treated as a scapegoat doesn't matter. He's a 2-time loser that even tried to circumvent the licensing issues last year. Not even good bye to him, just good riddance!

Agree (12 people agree)    Disagree (3 people disagree) Report this
 

20 Apr 2012 12:39 AEST

steve

From: adelaide

Multiple transgressions, bugger off Ricco.

Agree (22 people agree)    Disagree (0 people disagree) Report this
 

Join the discussion

You have characters remaining.
Validation (
) :
This is a captcha-picture. It is used to prevent mass-access by robots.

PLEASE NOTE: All submitted comments become the property of SBS. We reserve the right to edit and/or amend submitted comments. HTML tags other than paragraph, line break, bold or italics will be removed from your comment.