Adriano Malori sprays the champagne(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Adriano Malori in the race leader's blue jersey(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Adriano Malori (Movistar) was the only rider to attend the post-stage press conference at Tirreno-Adriatico after winning the 5.4km time trial and taking the race leader’s blue jersey.
He was questioned about his stage victory but also about the recent Cycling Independent Reform Commission (CIRC) report and specifically about CIRC’s suggestion to introduce night-time testing outside the current testing window that runs from six o’clock in the morning till 11 o’clock at night.
CIRC reported that riders are still taking micro-doses of EPO and possibly micro-blood transfusions, using the night-time no-testing spell to avoid being tested and to allow the drugs to clear their system. CIRC suggested that the “absence of night-time testing is a weakness in the current system and needs to be addressed” and recommended that it should be considered, as per the 2015 UCI Anti-Doping Rules, when a “serious and specific suspicion that the rider may be engaged in doping.”
Malori admitted he had not heard about the recommendation but was clearly against the idea.
“I didn’t know anything about it (the CIRC suggestion for night-time testing). I’ve never spoken about it before,” the Italian Movistar rider said.
“However we’re controlled from six in the morning till 11 at night. And after doing six hours (on the bike) and then facing another five hours the next day, I don’t think it’s right to be controlled at night, too. There should be some respect for our work.”
He suggested that athletes from other sports would be equally against night-time testing.
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“I think people should perhaps ask football players on their thoughts about being tested if that happened to them," Malori said.
Not yet the king of the time trials
Despite beating Fabian Cancellara by a second to win the stage, Malori refuted a suggestion that he is the new king of the short time trials. However, he admitted that this latest time trial victory confirms his place amongst the best time trialist in professional cycling.
“Today went well but other riders are good at time trials, too. Rather the king of short time trials, I hope to be the king of the long time trials.
“I’d say that the best time triallist in the world at the moment are Tony Martin, then Bradley Wiggins. After that it’s a fight between Fabian (Cancellara) and (Tom) Domoulin (of Giant-Alpecin). Then me.”
Malori confirmed he will be part of Movistar’s Classics squad after Tirreno-Adriatico, riding several of the biggest Classics, including Milan-San Remo, Dwars Door Vlaanderen, E3 Harelbeke, Gent-Wevegem and Paris-Roubaix. He may miss this year’s Giro d’Italia and focus on the prologue time trial at the Tour de France in Utrecht, but he has no plans to attempt to break the Hour Record.
“I didn’t do the Classics last year because of a knee infection, but I want to see what I can do and see if they suit me. Ask me again in a month and in the meantime we’ll see what happens,” he said.
“For now the Hour Record is not a goal. It’d be difficult for me because I don’t have much track experience. I’d need months to prepare for it. We’ll see what happens in the next few years but I’m going to focus on the road for now.”
Malori commented on his recent time trial win at Tirreno-Adriatico in our latest video.
Stephen is one of the most experienced members of the Cyclingnews team, having reported on professional cycling since 1994. Before becoming Editor-at-large, he was Head of News at Cyclingnews. He has previously worked for Shift Active Media, Reuters and Cycling Weekly. He is a member of the Board of the Association Internationale des Journalistes du Cyclisme (AIJC).
