The director of the Mapei Centre says that the training facility is no longer working with Michele Scarponi’s Lampre team. The 2011 Giro d’Italia champion and other persons associated with the team are the subject of ongoing doping investigations, although those were’t specifically cited as reasons behind the Mapei Centre’s decision.
Scarponi faces a three-month ban for his association with banned doctor Michele Ferrari, but has insisted he stopped training with him after joining Lampre for the 2011 season since the move meant he came under the supervision of the Mapei Centre.
The Mapei Centre’s director, Dr Claudio Pecci, told La Gazzetta dello Sport that while the first year working with Lampre, in 2011, had gone well, the situation had deteriorated in 2012. “There was confusion. We saw Scarponi a couple of times. That’s one of the reasons why our agreement didn’t work out. Whose fault is it? I don’t know.”
It's not entirely clear from the article, which appears in the print edition of today's newspaper, wheher those two meetings with Scarponi were over the two years, or just in 2012.
The Mapei Centre was originally founded to support the riders from the Mapei team, before moving on to work with other teams and individual riders and more recently branching out into other sports, including football.
It was set up on a strict anti-doping platform by Aldo Sassi, who died of a brain tumour in December 2010, and is credited by Cadel Evans as turning him from a mountain biker into a road cyclist who would go on to win the world championship – something Sassi was still alive to see – and the Tour de France.
Evans will still be working with the Mapei Centre, although another Grand Tour winner that has used its services in recent years won’t – Ivan Basso will now be training under the supervision of Cannondale directeur sportive, Paolo Slongo.
You can't do around getting rid of grass verges. They provide much needed parking space.
I've found riding primary into upcoming blind bends certainly seems to discourage drivers from overtaking as they would have no choice but to cross...
"Put down your weapon. You have 20 seconds to comply"
Kona makes practical, affordable commuter bikes and goes bust. Colnago makes toys for the affluent and it is booming. Just goes to show that the...
To answer your question, yes you can sometimes feel the difference. Built a set of wheels for a friend and he installed them with new lightweight...
Cycling infrastructure does not force drivers to break the law, drivers are the reason they break the law, no one else.
Ah but taking pictures of things to defy the man (avoid a fine) is righteous. Taking pictures of people to grass on them to the cops (perhaps...
As a woman, this works great for me! My chain broke once, and a kind guy stopped with a chain breaker and sorted it all out for me. We stopped at a...
Same. I also have gone through a bunch of their tyres, and only the extralight disappointed (torn sidewall) but the standards are fantastic....
thanks for the ideas....