Cipollini accused of massive doping program
Italian newspaper reports on "Cipo's" association with Fuentes
The famous pink-sheeted newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport reports that retired Italian sprinter Mario Cipollini, who owns the record for most Giro d’Italia stage wins, was a client of Dr. Eufemiano Fuentes, who is still on trial in Madrid. The newspaper claims that The Lion King used EPO (including 13,000 units in the build up to the 2001 Giro), human grown hormones and blood transfusions in large quantities from 2001 to 2004, peaking with 25 blood transfusions before the 2003 Giro, his last Italian Grand Tour, where he won two stages.
“Cipo’s” lawyer denies “false and absurd accusations” against his client and has threatened to sue the Gazzetta. Italian doctor Luigi Cecchini, closely associated with teams besides Cipollini’s, also denies referring the sprinter and other pros to Fuentes.
Cipollini won the Milan-San Remo and World Championship in 2002, 12 stages of the Tour de France where he wore yellow for six days, and 42 stages of the Giro from 1989 to 2003.
In the latest development in the Fuentes trial, German ex-pro Jorg Jaksche provided damning testimony today against Fuentes and Jaksche’s former boss at ONCE and Liberty Seguros, Manolo Saiz.
