Ivano Fanini blasts those behind Riccò and Sella

Ivano Fanini, Team Manager of Amore & Vita-McDonald's and outspoken anti-doping critic, swung at those standing behind the doping cases of Riccardo Riccò and Emanuele Sella.

"It is very doubtful that at the base of these teams there is organised doping," said Italian Fanini, according to Agr. He took aim at the team managers of Saunier Duval-Scott and CSF Group Navigare. "Their reasoning is this: 'For us it is not important how you win, we don't control the way you prepare nor with whom you do it, but if they catch you we will fire you and save our ship.'"

Riccò raced for Mauro Gianetti's Saunier Duval-Scott. He won two stages and the young riders' classification in the Giro d'Italia. He decided to race the Tour de France, where he won two stages and held the mountain and young rider classification. A doping control during the Tour revealed he used EPO-CERA and the race organiser forced his ejection mid-race.

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Sella dominated the mountain stages of the Giro d'Italia for Bruno Reverberi's Team CSF Group. He won three high-mountain stages and the green jersey of best climber. Nearly two months after the race, he tested positive for EPO-CERA in an out-of-competition International Cycling Union (UCI) control.

Fanini, who recently blasted Liquigas' Leonardo Bertagnolli, discredited the confessions of Riccò and Sella to the prosecutor of the Italian Olympic Committee (CONI). "The confessions of Riccò and Sella come to mind... They were obliged to do so because they were found with their hands in the cookie jar."

Meanwhile, he was also amazed at and suspicious of the other riders for not doing more. "The victories at the last Giro were not clean. ... Those riders at the Giro who placed behind Riccò and Sella should be rebelling, but maybe they don't do so because they have something to hide." (GB)