For the second time in three runnings, the Giro d'Italia, has been thrown into chaos following a police anti-drugs blitz which prompted the riders to go on a one-day strike, thus wiping out yesterday's eagerly awaited 18th stage in the Alps.
The riders' strike action was an angry response to a police raid on Wednesday evening in which the hotel rooms and team mobile homes of all 143 riders were searched for prohibited substances. In a dramatic meeting in San Remo, where the 17th stage had finished, the riders at first threatened to pull out of the race entirely.
Later, under pressure from the race organisers (the sports daily Gazzetta Dello Sport), team managers and team sponsors, the riders agreed to resume racing today, with the 163 kilometre 19th stage, Alba to Busto Arsizio. The three-week Giro is due to end in Milan on Sunday.
During a meeting in the Hotel Astoria, San Remo, attended by the biggest names in the peloton, including past Giro and Tour winner Marco Pantani, sprint king Mario Cipollini and current race leader Gilberto Simoni, the riders expressed their anger at being "raided" late in the evening and then made to stand around in hotel corridors until three in the morning.
Notwithstanding the riders' claims of "persecution", however, police reports claim that the raid prompted some unprecedented scenes. General Gennaro Miglio, the officer who led the 200-strong police force, claimed that there had been some "colourful" incidents with at least one rider trying to climb out his hotel room window when the police knocked on the door. Other riders apparently threw plastic bags of "medicines" out their windows while one policeman was hit on the head (but not injured) by a flying syringe. Unconfirmed reports claim that police also found prohibited substances hidden below the window sills in some of the riders' rooms.
"We seized a whole series of prohibited substances . . . even haematic substances with which the riders analyse their blood so that they can then take the necessary measures . . .", General Miglio told Italian TV.
Wednesday night's blitz was ordered by Florence-based state prosecutor Antonino Gutt adauro, following a spot search of hotel rooms used by Giro teams before the eighth stage out of Montecatini Terme in Tuscany on Sunday May 27th. That search had thrown up a number of used syringes as well as traces of other suspect medicines prompting the state prosecutor to put the telephones of some riders and team managers under surveillance.
Prosecutor Guttadauro yesterday confirmed that the timing of the blitz was no accident when saying that Wednesday evening had been chosen because it fell on the eve of arguably the toughest stage of this year's Giro. "We believe that doping practises are most widespread on the eve of especially demanding athletic endeavour such as a stage in the mountains . . .," said Guttadauro.
Although media reports suggested that a vast array of suspect medicines were sequestered, prosecutor Guttadauro would not confirm either the nature of the substances seized or the names of the riders or teams under investigation.
"For the time being, no one is under investigation, nor is one team rather than another the focus of our investigation . . . Our inquiry is of an overall nature but that is not to say that all the teams are involved, he said.
Two years ago, the Giro was thrown into chaos when the overall leader Marco Pantani was thrown out of the race on the morning of the penultimate day after testing positive for banned substance EPO.
Before Wednesday night's blitz, cycling fans had been eagerly anticipating yesterday's 230 kilometre stage to Santa Anna di Vinadio in the Alps. Not only was it the toughest stage of the Giro, with four category one climbs, but the overall race is currently very close with race leader Gilberto Simoni just 15 seconds clear of second placed Dario Frigo.
