Michael Boogerd would always target the race(Image credit: Sirotti)
Michael Boogerd (Rabobank)(Image credit: Fotoreporter Sirotti)
Oscar Camenzind rode away from a group of favourites in 1998 to take the title(Image credit: Sirotti)
Oscar Camenzind (Phonak) in 2004(Image credit: Sirotti)
Former Rabobank stalwart Michael Boogerd claims he is owed 40,000 Swiss francs after Oscar Camenzind (Mapei-Bricobi) took a six second victory over the Dutchman at the 1998 Giro di Lombardia.
In an interview in Wielerland Magazine, Boogerd explained that it was common knowledge between the two teams that a deal was struck between the two riders.
"We agreed: who wins pays," Boogerd said. "That happens sometimes in racing, though I was not a fan of because it relies on the winner paying up. We agreed on an amount of 40,000 Swiss Francs..."
Camenzind and Boogerd moved away from the peloton on the descent of the the Forcella di Burra into Bergamo and soon built a gap of over a minute. The pair worked together until Bergamo and then Camenzind dropped Boogerd who appeared to be just holding onto the Mapei rider's wheel.
Six days earlier, Camenzind won the world championships in Valkenburg and so Boogerd knew that the Swiss rider was in good form. Boogerd claims that he is still to receive payment.
Camenzind, clearly unimpressed with Boogerd's claims has rubbished the report.
"In 2000 at the Tour of Valencia he came to me with that story," he explained. "Why was he suddenly asking me for money two years later?
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"I want to tell you how it is. I was super that day. Just before Bergamo he offered me a sum of money if I would let him win. I told him that I wanted to win. Moreover, the amount was so low that I could not take him seriously... Why should I have to give a weaker rider money?"
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