Following today’s news that Lampre-ISD’s Leonardo Bertagnolli was subject to International Cycling Union (UCI) disciplinary proceedings under the Biological Passport programme, the blue-fuchsia team has released a statement which seeks to distance itself from the rider. The team claims that the period under which the 34-year-old’s blood parameter values allegedly showed suspicious values was not while he was a Lampre-ISD rider.
“Team Lampre-ISD announces that it received, from cyclist Leonardo Bertagnolli, a communication about the notification of the opening of potential anti-doping rule violation in relationship to the biological passport,” says the team’s statement.
“In the full spirit of fairness and of the clean sport, Lampre-ISD acknowledges the information, pointing out with surprise that - as explained by Bertagnolli after he had analysed the documentation - the potential violations dated back to the period 2008 and 2009, when he was not in blue-fuchsia team.”
During the period in question, Bertagnolli was riding with Liquigas, the ill-fated Amica Chips-Knauf team, and Serramenti PVC Diquigiovanni-Androni Giocattoli. The Biological Passport system was in its early days at the time which, had he been subject to proceedings at the time, would have made him one of the vey first. If it is true that the Italian’s abnormal values date back as much as four years, it does beg the question as to why it has taken this long to begin proceedings.
Since joining Lampre-ISD - as the team points out - the rider has not returned any suspicious samples, and has been fully co-operative with anti-doping systems.
“Doctor Carlo Guardascione, responsible of Lampre-ISD's health staff, also confirms that no anomalies were detected in all the blood exams performed within the internal monitoring program that the Team has performed in cooperation with Mapei Sport Center in 2011 and 2012 (when Bertagnolli was a member of Lampre-ISD) and in the biological passport exams that were performed in the same period,” the statement concludes.