Jul 4, 2007
Petacchi Suspended for Overzealous Inhalor Usage
(photo from ALBERTO PIZZOLI/AFP/Getty Images)
No Ale-Jet putting on the afterburners in the sprint stages this year. The high levels of Salbutamol
during the Giro caused a non-negative test result. Milram suspended Petacchi pending the outcome of the case. Today Ettore Torri a CONI anti-doping prosecutor recommended to a one year ban for Petacchi to the Italian Cycling Fedaration.
This ruling has cost Petacchi his place in the Tour and possibly at next years Giro and Tour also depending on when the suspension is set to begin and of the Pro Tour code of ethics is attached to this punishment. That would mean that Petacchi could not race in ProTour events for two years after his one year suspension is finished.
Overall Petacchi’s overuse of a drug for which he has dispensation seems like an overzealous ruling. CONI prosecutor Ettore Torri is probably trying to use the old Giuliani broken window policy of drug enforcement. If the federations and other letter organizations are lenient on slight overusage then it would seem that they would condone other forms. Right now is not a good time to be loose with any sort of drug legal or otherwise. Since Basso’s suspension and the mass confessions of Riis, Zabel and others the fear of prosecuting top stars is gone.
It is ashame that a top class racer such as Petacchi would be so loose with the amount of Salbutamol that he inhales. Being a hi profile racer who is rigorously tested and on a team where Erik Zable recently admitted past EPO usage you would think extra care would be placed in dosage levels.