Cycling Community Rallies Against Luca's Drug Claims

Danilo Di Luca's comment that doping remains rife in Giro d'Italia, one of cycling's most famous races, has provoked furious attacks from members of cycling communities.

Chiara Passerini, the wife of 's champion , termed Luca a clown. Andrew Talansky, the American pro and top-10 finisher in , said he feel genuine hatred towards and added Luca is a worthless lying scumbag making false statements that hurt the sport he loves.

Danilo Di Luca, a former Italian professional road racing cyclist who rode for Neri Sottoli-Yellow Fluo recently, had claimed that 90 percent of the 200 riders competing in the Giro d'Italia dope. He further claimed that the remaining 10 percent don't care about the race and they are preparing for other races. Luca also remarked it is impossible to finish in the top 10 in the Giro d'Italia and not dope. Luca said the best thing would be to legalize drugs so the entire peloton is on a level playing field. The cyclist added he first learned about doping as an amateur.

Meanwhile, Italian anti-doping authorities are questioning Di Luca in the wake of his sweeping claims.

The Italian cyclist was given a life ban by the Italian Olympic Committee (CONI) after he delivered a positive test for the banned blood booster erythropoietin (EPO) in an out of competition test on 29th April 2013, which forced him to quit the Giro d’Italia. Luca was fined 35,000 euros, banned for life, and his results since mid-April 2013 were erased from the record books. A CONI statement had revealed that the national anti-doping tribunal has imposed a lifetime ban on Danilo Di Luca for his violation of Articles 2.1 and 2.2 of the World Anti-Doping Agency code. It added that this ban takes effect from May 24, 2013, and annuls any competitive results that Luca achieved after taking a biological test on April 29.

The 37-year-old cyclist won the Giro d’Italia in 2007 and finished second overall in 2009. Luca received a suspension in 2007 for his involvement with the Italian doping doctor Carlo Santuccione and tested positive in 2009 for using the blood-booster CERA during that year’s Giro. The rider delivered a positive urine sample during his 2007 Giro victory that reportedly recorded the hormone levels of a small child, a sign of using masking agents. Luca was however cleared for the offense after it was admitted by CONI anti- doping officials that there was not a sufficient degree of probability for a doping conviction.

Luca started his professional career in 1998 and demonstrated his talent to the world by conquering the under-23 version of the Giro D'Italia. In 2005, the cyclist switched to - to join the ranks of , , , and Magnus Bäckstedt. Luca won the and La Flèche Wallonne and took the ProTour leader's white jersey. Di Luca became 2005 UCI ProTour champion after his success in the 2005 Giro d'Italia where he won two stages and finished fourth. He finished fourth in the 2005 Züri-Metzgete and fifth in the .