Di Luca was cheating for a long time. Ever since he won­ Liege-Bastogne-Liege in 2007, i knew he was doping­ because that must have been the first time in about two­ years that he had done anything in an important race.­ And then, in the next month, he won the giro: an­ overnight transformation some people might say. But­ winning a classic and winning a 3-week stage race­ doesn't require the same skills. It requires skills­ that don't come overnight. And then, after much­ legal wrangling, he escaped the ban after winning the­ giro in 2007. But everyone knew he was doping. Riders­ don't peek at 33 years old. Now he's caught and­ he will still have his Liege-Bastogne-Liege title and­ his giro title when he didn't deserve them that is­ just sad. Andy Schleck should be given the 2007 giro,­ and because Mazzoleni was also doping, Simoni should be­ 2nd and Cunego 3rd. Also, Di Luca doping gave him 15-20­ % of extra aerobic strength, no one could seriously­ believe that Menchov could beat him by riding cleanly.­ The sport is being destroyed by people that care more­ about winning that proving to themselves what they can­ do: can you really feel like you were a great rider if­ you know that you were cheating during these races? Di­ Luca should be banned for life and this case should­ threaten riders and show them that in the end the truth­ comes out. I think that Di Luca's prize money over­ the last few years should be returned to the UCI and­ instead of using this money as prize money, it should­ be given to labs in order to do more tests, more­ research about drugs... I say yes to life bans to­ everyone caught doping

life life life ban

Agree with comment 15. Ban for life and do it on 1st­ offence. It's the only way to keep it clean. Maybe­ everyone is cheating, it's just that some have­ better masking drugs than others?

I agree this looks as if it was withheld but its over­ now so we will see who is after astroloza.

I agree this looks as if it was withheld but its over­ now so we will see who is after astroloza.

At the risk of getting banned from Eurosport for­ inciting violence, I wonder why there isn't an­ outpouring of support and defense for Denis Menchov. It­ seems like not too long ago there was another Grand­ Tour winner who was similarly implicated­ circumstantially because the runner up had failed a­ doping test. And I recall a strong (some might say­ fanatical) condemnation of those who dared to cast such­ wild accusations. I doubt it's because the cycling­ season ended on July 26th for those "cycling­ fans". Just an obvservation...

Anywho, I would­ like to attempt to answer JIM PAPPE's question in­ comment #24.

Riders use CERA because it works. They­ are willing to risk suspension beacause the alternative­ for some is anonymity. For others, they would not be­ cyclists at all. I would imagine it takes a very­ virtuous (not to mention physically gifted to the­ extreme) person to be faced with systemic doping, and­ refuse to do it. Think about it, you've spent your­ life doing whatever it takes to make yourself faster,­ then suddenly you say "No". Everyone thinks­ sports teaches fair play. How often is fair play­ rewarded versus how often winning is rewarded? It's­ a wonder any of them are clean. And for the record I­ wish they all raced clean.

truedat , danilo doped for sure , so , what about­ dennis menchov? does anyone think he was clean ?­ menchov and diluca rode everyone off their wheels and­ for 3 weeks and if one is doped , u can assume the­ other one doped too?

I still dont believe all the BS about how long it takes­ to catch a rider who is doping. I agree with earlier­ comments that it takes a while because of the intended­ delay that wont hurt the TDF's image. The IEF­ (isoelectric focusing) test for EPO takes two and a­ half days to complete as does the Homoglobous test like­ Vino failed (The short turnaournd is proven by­ Vino's positive 2007 where Astana pulled out after­ he failed the @#$% test on the Elbe stage), HCT tests­ take less by design for rider safety. People can say­ what they want but proper prioritization planning and­ monetary investment in doping testing would turn up­ cheats in plenty of time before the race ended (barring­ doping on the last couple stages). The amount of tests­ per day are not large as some people would have you­ believe. 8 per day for each day yields 170 tests for­ the winners over the course of the Tour, and they dont­ all come in at the same time. BS.

if EDDY MERCKX took drugs no one could test it back­ then

I can't believe that these racers are still using­ CERA. They know it's detectable. Why risk it? At­ the same time, I'm not sure I can believe any­ result that comes out of the Châtenay-Malabry lab since­ the Landis case. I'd like to see the lab work of­ their findings published for everyone to review and­ transparency on both sides to be fair.

LIFE BAN it is the only way to go.

I don't think we need necessarily doubt other­ riders because of Di Luca. He has been under suspicion­ for years now and has managed to wriggle out from under­ some strong evidence previously. His overnight­ transformation from Classics winner to Grand Tour­ winner was supicious but not conclusive. If a rider­ becomes a tour winner, and is proven a cheat, it­ doesn't mean that those that sunbsequently beat­ them are cheats, we have to believe some are just that­ good, or what is the point!

BEING NAIVE PERHAPS.HAS THE GREAT EDDY MERCKX AND OTHER­ PREVIOUS STARS ADMITTED TO TAKING DRUG RELATED AIDS.

Are people begining to wake up to the obvious? CERA etc­ give a massive boost in a stage race so its hard to see­ how anybody displaying wattages within 10% of the­ person found out is clean. Its not also rans who take­ this stuff to win - Its already very strong and­ talented riders who realise to continue winning they­ have to play the game.
Fraud is exactly what it is and­ its being orchestrated by organised crime I would­ guess: Its the doctors we need to catch via inside­ agents- the riders are just pawns. Over to the UCI, or­ are you in on it?

Well said Ra.
Di Luca's cheating gave him 10-20%­ more aerobic strength...yet Menchov beat him. Do we­ really believe ANY of the top riders are clean? How do­ they keep up with proven dopers?

even Fat Boy Slim can win with all the product's­ that this rider's are using
are we naïf!!

Why won't they ban them for life,& keep the­ sport we love clean?

And the new overall standing of the giro are now...1­ Menchov 2 Pellizotii 3 Sastre and Mechov the new winner­ of the points jersey

Fraud!