The outcry following CONI anti-doping prosecutor Ettore Torri's comments early on Wednesday has echoed far and wide today, and one team in particular has taken offense to the outspoken prosecutor's words - Liquigas.
"Liquigas Sport has promoted the ethics of sport as a cornerstone of its business since its inception, and will work alongside the [anti-doping] institutions to foster important and concrete actions in support of the fight against doping. With the same determination with which it stands, however, the company considers unacceptable the indiscriminate accusations by the prosecutor Torri: that's not how you fight the cancer of the sport."
Liquigas takes particular umbrage with Torri's insinuations that doping is not just an individual action, but made possible as well from the help of the teams, something that hits close to home for any company investing millions of euros into a sport already under great duress.
"To say that doping is a constant among cyclists, and that doctors and members of the organization work to help athletes avoid the risk of falling foul of controls is false and offensive, implying the complicity and involvement of the teams."
"The statements by the prosecutor Torri frustrate every effort of those who, for years, have been trying to promote a transparent policy and undertakes [actions] to show that the victories are without the shadow of doping. For the umpteenth time the cycling sport is being depicted as "cursed", the only one plagued by the problem of drugs, managed and shared by people with no morality.
The leading Italian team is not only incensed by the aging prosecutor's words, but wants action. Liquigas's focus on Torri's obvious bias against cyclists is a valid one, and it rings as reasonable when the acid green team calls for action from the UCI and the Italian Cycling Federation in regards to Torri.
"Liquigas Sport, in protecting its image and in defense of its ethics in sports, openly condemns the statements of Torri and wonders how the same may continue to serve as head of CONI's anti-doping prosecutor, while holding such an explicitly biased position."
"The company eventually hopes for an early intervention and a strong stance by the Union Cycliste Internationale and the Italian Cycling Federation to protect and safeguard the entire movement."
It will be interesting to see what if any repercussions come as a result of Torri's words.