Leonardo Piepoli
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Leonardo Piepoli | ||
| Born | September 29, 1971 La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland |
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| Height | 1.69 m (5 ft 7 in) | ||
| Weight | 54 kg (120 lb; 8.5 st) | ||
| Team information | |||
| Current team | None | ||
| Discipline | Road | ||
| Role | Rider | ||
| Rider type | Climbing specialist | ||
| Professional team(s) | |||
| 1995–1997 1998 1999–2003 2004–2008 |
Refin Saeco Macchine per Caffè Banesto Saunier Duval-Prodir |
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| Major wins | |||
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| Infobox last updated on September 9, 2007 |
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Leonardo Piepoli (born September 29, 1971 in La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland) is an Italian professional road racing cyclist. He most recently rode for Saunier Duval-Scott on the UCI ProTour, but had his contract suspended in July 2008 during the Tour de France amid allegations of the use of the blood boosting drug EPO in the team.
Contents |
[edit] Career
He is a record four-time winner (1995, 1999, 2003, 2004) of the Subida a Urkiola. Piepoli is a specialist climber, and this was shown in the 2006 Giro d'Italia, where he was one of the strongest riders in the mountains and won two stages. Leonardo became the 2007 Giro d'Italia Mountains classification winner. He has won stages in the Giro, the Tour de France, and the Vuelta a España. He also made himself famous by 'gifting' two stage victories to his team-mates Gilberto Simoni and Riccardo Riccò. During the Vuelta, Piepoli reached the King of Mountains Classification top position, but was forced to leave the race, citing 'family problems'
During the 2008 Giro d'Italia Piepoli crashed two times, leaving the race with three broken ribs and with his left hand fractured in two places.
In the 2008 Tour de France, Piepoli won the 10th stage, a mountain stage that climbed the legendary Hautacam, and also helped his team-mate Riccardo Riccò win two stages. Before the twelfth stage, Piepoli and the rest of his team stepped out of the race, after Riccò had tested positive for doping.
[edit] Doping allegations
Piepoli was fired from Saunier Duval on July 18, 2008, for what his team called "violation of the team's ethical code." The Spanish newspaper El Pais reported that Piepoli had confessed to EPO usage, using the same third generation form (CERA) for which his teammate Riccardo Riccò tested positive,[1] but he denied this at the Italian National Olympic Committee's investigation into Riccò's case. On October 6, 2008, it was announced that two of Piepoli's samples from the Tour de France had also tested positive for CERA EPO.[2] In a January 7, 2009 interview with the Italian newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport, Piepoli acknowledged that he had used CERA in "a moment of weakness".[3] In January 2009, he was suspended from the sport for two years.[4]
[edit] Palmares
- 1995
- Subida a Urkiola
- King of Mountains Classification, Tour de Suisse
- 1996
- 17th overall, Tour de France
- 1998
- 1st, stage 4 Vuelta a Burgos
- 1999 – Banesto
- Vuelta a Castilla y León
- 1st stage 2 Vuelta a Castilla y León
- Subida a Urkiola
- 1st, stage 4 Vuelta a Burgos
- 2000 – Banesto
- Vuelta a Aragón
- Vuelta a Burgos
- Mountain Classification Vuelta a Burgos
- 2nd, Subida a Urkiola
- 10th overall, Giro d'Italia
- 2002 – Banesto
- Vuelta a Aragón overall and stage 1
- Vuelta Asturias overall and stage 4
- 2003 – Banesto
- Subida a Urkiola
- Vuelta a Aragón and stage 1
- Subida al Naranco
- 2004 – Saunier Duval-Prodir
- 1st, Subida a Urkiola
- 1st, Stage 9 – Vuelta a España
- 3rd Vuelta a Aragón
- 3rd Vuelta a Romandia
- 3rd Subida al Naranco
- 3rd Vuelta a Burgos
- 2005 – Saunier Duval-Prodir
- 1st, Stage 4 – Volta a Catalunya
- 2nd overall, Volta a Catalunya
- 10th overall, Tour de Suisse
- 23rd overall, Tour de France
- 2006 – Saunier Duval-Prodir
- 11th overall, Giro d'Italia
- 1st, Stage 13
- 1st, Stage 17
- 8th overall, Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré
- 13th overall, 2006 Vuelta a España
- 2007 – Saunier Duval-Prodir
- 14th overall Giro d'Italia
Mountains classification winner- 1st, Stage 10
- 2nd, Stage 13
- 2nd, Stage 15
- 2nd, Stage 17
- 11th overall, Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré
- 17th overall, 2007 Tour de Romandie
- 1st, Stage 9, Vuelta a España
- 2nd, Stage 4, Vuelta a España
- 2008 – Saunier Duval-Scott
- 1st, Stage 10 Tour de France
[edit] Grand Tour General Classification results timeline
| Grand Tour | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Giro |
WD | 38 | WD | 16 | WD | 10 | WD | - | - | - | - | 11 | 14 | WD |
 Tour |
- | 17 | - | 14 | - | WD | 44 | - | - | - | 23 | - | - | WD |
 Vuelta |
- | - | 26 | - | 8 | - | - | - | 23 | 27 | 35 | 13 | WD | - |
WD - Withdrew
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Weislo, Laura (20 July 2008). "Dueñas, Piepoli confessed". Cycling News (Future Publishing Limited). http://autobus.cyclingnews.com/news.php?id=news/2008/jul08/jul20news. Retrieved 23 December 2009.
- ^ George, Sue; Laura Weislo (7 October 2008). "Piepoli and Schumacher Tour de France samples positive for CERA". Cycling News (Future Publishing Limited). http://autobus.cyclingnews.com/news.php?id=news/2008/oct08/oct07news. Retrieved 23 December 2009.
- ^ AP (7 January 2009). "Piepoli says he doped in "moment of weakness'". USA Today. http://www.usatoday.com/sports/cycling/2009-01-07-651727350_x.htm. Retrieved 23 December 2009.
- ^ AFP (28 January 2009). "Italian cyclist banned for drug use". The Age (Fairfax Digital). http://www.theage.com.au/news/sport/italian-cyclist-banned-for-drug-use/2009/01/27/1232818436438.html. Retrieved 23 December 2009.
[edit] External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Leonardo Piepoli |
- Leonardo Piepoli at Trap-Friis.dk
