“Armstrong was placed under formal investigation last August for ‘private violence’ against Simeoni after he chased the Italian down during stage 18 of the 2004 Tour de France.”
So Lance (or anybody for that matter) is not allowed to chase down the leader during a race without some court order being thrown at them!
“MILAN, Italy, May 31 (Reuters) - Former world champion Mario Cipollini of Italy was questioned by Italian police in Florence on Tuesday as part of an investigation concerning six-times Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong.
Cipollini was summoned because his former team manager Vincenzo Santoni told police that Armstrong had put pressure on the Italian to stop his compatriot Filippo Simeoni from riding in his team in the 2004 Tour.
“Cipollini was questioned for an hour but I cannot reveal details of what was said or anything regarding Cipollini’s position in the investigation,” police officer Pierluigi Lambardi told Reuters.
Armstrong was placed under formal investigation last August for ‘private violence’ against Simeoni after he chased the Italian down during stage 18 of the 2004 Tour de France.
Simeoni began defamation proceedings against Armstrong in 2003 after the American called him a liar in an interview with a French newspaper in April that year.
The Italian had given evidence in 2002 during the trial of Armstrong’s personal coach Michele Ferrari and claimed Ferrari had given him doping substances.
Ferrari was found guilty of sporting fraud and illegally acting as a pharmacist on October 1, 2004 but has appealed against the verdict.
Armstrong travelled to Italy on March 30 to face police questioning in the Tuscan town of Lucca.
“I explained in detail what happened that day and what I really said. I told them the truth,” the Texan told Italian newspaper La Gazzetta dello Sport at the time.
Armstrong is preparing for this year’s Tour de France and has announced he will retire from the sport when the race ends in Paris on July 24.”
“Pedal faster Filippo” has to be the only answer. It sounds like a Monty Python skit. Lance might have driven him to a stage win, then he would have to thank him for the chase!
Funny, I just watched Stage 18 of last year’s TdF last night. After the stage, during which Lance chased down Simeoni’s attempt at a break and apparently said some choice things to him about who’s boss, Lance was asked about both his moves to shut down the break and the off-the-bike issues between he and Simeoni.
About the counter-move he disingenuously said, “Just following some wheels,” but he emphatically denied working through Cipollini to prevent Simeoni’s selection, noting that he barely even has any control over his own team’s Tour de France selections.
can someone help me figure out what the big fuss was here … what was wrong with chasing down a break ?.. even with the vendetta background … isnt that just good bike racing ?
can someone help me figure out what the big fuss was here … what was wrong with chasing down a break ?.. even with the vendetta background … isnt that just good bike racing ?
Simeoni was a nobody on GC in that Tour, hours down at that point. It was a late stage in the Tour, when the favorites usually sit up and let some nobody or the sprinters take the stage. Lance’s actions, if not illegal, were just really bizarre, as Simeoni (and everybody else in the break) was no threat to his GC position.
The subtext was pretty clear. Simeoni was outspoken on doping issues and Lance was sending a message: Even though you don’t matter to the GC and are irrelevant to my final race position, I’m not going to let you win a stage because of what you’ve said.
can someone help me figure out what the big fuss was here … what was wrong with chasing down a break ?.. even with the vendetta background … isnt that just good bike racing ?
Did you just read back thousands and thousands of threads to get to this one?
Simeoni testified against Michele Ferrari in a doping case. Lance’s former DR. His testimony helped find Ferari guilty of helping riders dope. Forgot the exact charge. Simeoni goes in the break way down. Lance has his team chase, then himself, in yellow chases and bridges to him. The yellow never himself goes after the break. Lets his team don it if a threat. Catches Simeoni and basically says, you will never be allowed in a break or win. Tells him he will destroy his carreer. Rumer has it that when Lance’s team went by, some spitted on him. Pelaton shuns Simeoni and he is practicly in tears. Whole pelaton supports “Omerta” …No fast forward, if Lance proved guilty of doping, this icon of the sport…Well you get the picture