Controversial Italian rider will face strict controls, may make debut in Plouay this Sunday
Italian climber Riccardo Riccò has finally completed negotiations and will be racing with the Vacansoleil team for the next two years. After agreeing terms, he hopes to compete in the Grand Prix Ouest France in Plouay this Sunday, providing the paperwork is completed in time.
"I’m glad I am back and while I believe everyone deserves a second chance, I am not there yet,” he said in a team statement. “I want to conquer the hearts of the fans by attacking and racing fairly.”
“In choosing the Vacansoleil Pro Cycling Team I know I’ll be in an environment where there is a zero-tolerance policy and where clean cycling has a very high priority. It is a team that sets a good example and that is something I am happy with in the second phase of my career. During the talks with Vacansoleil, they were strict with the terms [of the deal] but also fair. I will not betray that trust and damage their image, and will get great results.”
Last Friday the 26 year old told La Gazzetta dello Sport that he had completed an agreement with another team, but this announcement proved to be premature. "I signed up with Quick-Step through 2011,” he said then, one day after he and his previous team Ceramica Flaminia agreed terms to dissolve their contract.
“I am convinced that I've made the right choice. It is one of the greatest teams and allows me back into the top races.”
However those talks fell through and Vancansoleil swooped to secure his signature. “We have finally reached an agreement,” directeur sportif Hilaire Van der Schueren told Belga today. “It is a contract for two seasons. We did not take risks in recruiting Riccò. I personally feel that everyone is entitled to second chances. Actually he was not our first choice – initially, we wanted Scarponi but when the negotiations did not work, we looked for the services of [Samuel] Sanchez. But that did not work out. I kept looking and finally came up with Riccò. I immediately had his blood values checked with a renowned Dutch laboratory, but there was nothing suspicious to be found.
“I also contacted the organisers of the three Grand Tours. From everywhere, I heard the same thing; that Riccò had served his sentence and that he could do his career without problems. We want him to race as soon as possible. The intention is that Vacansoleil will be part of the ProTour next season. We have sent the application for this to the UCI. We want to ride well both in the Classics and also perform well in the overall classifications. We have the tandem of Leukemans and Devolder for the Classics; with Riccò, we have a rider who can ride very well in the Grand Tours.
"In recent days everything moved very quickly when we were searching for a climber par excellent to complement our lineup for 2011,” explained team manager Dan Luijkx. “After the sponsor Vacansoleil and the team considered the pros and cons, we decided to meet Riccò. That meeting made us decide to go for it.”
"We share the ambition and want to see the Italian attack. When you see that he won this year’s Tour of Austria after some hard battles, and with blood all over his face, you see again what sort of rider he is. The sponsor and the team believe that after being punished Riccò, just like everyone, deserves a second chance.”
Three years ago, Riccò was regarded as one of the best young talents in Italian cycling. He went on to place second in the 2008 Giro d’Italia, and pick up two mountain stage victories in the Tour de France. However he failed a test for CERA and was ejected in disgrace from the Grand Tour, later being suspended for twenty months.
Vacansoleil is aware that he is a controversial rider that will be viewed with suspicion by many, at least initially. The team insisted that it has taken precautions and that is confident that he will compete fairly. “To take this decision, we have made agreements with him, including screening [internal testing],” Luijkx explained. “The contract has a clause that Riccò agreed to, whereby in the case of a positive test, his contract would be immediately terminated and he would pay an astronomical fine for misconduct. By misconduct, that means the discrediting of the team and/or failure to comply with internal regulations.
He said that subject to the UCI registering him in time, that he would make his debut with the team at the GP Plouay. “There we will immediately see his class,” Luijkx predicted.
“Riccò appealed to the imagination with his strong attacks and the fact that the trendsetter in the 2008 Tour was caught for doping was a big blow for cycling. In 2010, Riccò is now a rider who has served his suspension and paid for his sins. In recent years several riders contributed to a cleaner cycling after serving suspensions, and Riccò wants to join these. He doesn’t want to repeat the error because he missed racing, he believes in fair play and he wants to be able to look at fans and team-mates in the eye. He is a rider who can finish in the top three in a Grand Tour and there are few of those.”