Dario Frigo (born 18 September 1973) is an Italian former professional road bicycle racer.

Career

Frigo's transition to professional began at the 1995

Giro del Veneto The Giro del Veneto is a semi classic European bicycle race held in the region of Veneto, Italy. The race is a 1.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour. In 2012 the race merged with another Italian classic, Coppa Placci The Coppa Placci is a semi cla ...

, riding as a

stagiaire Stagiaire may refer to: * Stage (cooking) or stagiaire, a cook who works briefly, for free, in another chef's kitchen * Stagiaire (cycling), an amateur cyclist temporarily riding for a professional team * A particular type of trainee, see Europea ...

for . In 1996, he was officially signed to

Saeco Philips Saeco S.p.A., or short Saeco, is an Italian manufacturer of manual, super-automatic and capsule espresso machines and other electrical goods with headquarters and factories in Gaggio Montano near Bologna. History The company was foun ...

on a four-year contract. In 1999, he obtained his first victory at the

Dekra Open The Schwabenbräu Cup (1988–1990), Hofbräu Cup (1992–1997) or Dekra Open (1999–2000) was a short professional multi-day cycling race held annually in Germany. Winners Stage winners 1988 Schwabenbräu Cup 1989 Schwabenb ...

, in Germany. In 2000, he joined the

Fassa Bortolo Fassa Bortolo (2000–2005) was a professional road bicycle racing team founded in 2000 and led by Giancarlo Ferretti. Dubbed the 'Silver Team', it managed to be one of the most successful teams of the era, not in the least due to top sprinter ...

team and achieved success, winning the

Giro di Campania The Giro di Campania was a one-day road cycling race held annually in the region of Campania (man), it, Campana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , d ...

, as well as a stage of the

Giro del Trentino The Tour of the Alps is an annual professional cycling stage race in Italy and Austria. First held in 1962, it was named Giro del Trentino ( en, Tour of Trentino) until 2016, and run over four stages in the Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol region o ...

. He also finished second overall in the

Tour de Suisse The Tour de Suisse ( en, Tour of Switzerland) is an annual road cycling stage race. Raced over eight days, the event covers two weekends in June, and along with the Critérium du Dauphiné, it is considered a proving ground for the Tour de France ...

. More success came for him in early 2001, when he won the time trial at the Col d'Èze and the overall classification of Paris–Nice, as well as the general classification of the

Tour de Romandie The Tour de Romandie is a stage race which is part of the UCI World Tour. It runs through the Romandie region, or French-speaking part of Switzerland. The competition began in 1947, to coincide with the 50-year anniversary of Swiss Cycling. It ...

. He entered the 2001 Giro d'Italia, and was one of the favorites to win. In the prologue, he finished second to Rik Verbrugghe and after the fourth stage, he took the race lead, which he held for nine days, until losing it to

Gilberto Simoni Gilberto Simoni (born 25 August 1971 in Palù di Giovo, Trentino) is an Italian former professional road bicycle racer, most recently for . Simoni is twice winner of the Giro d'Italia cycling race (2001 and 2003 editions). Simoni might have wo ...

on the 13th stage. The gap between the two, was very small. On 3 June, Frigo won the 15th stage, a time trial. However, Simoni managed to maintain his lead. On 7 June the stage was canceled following the searches of the NAS in the hotels of Sanremo where the teams participating in the Giro used to stay. During the searches of Frigo's vials with doping substances are found which he owned, although he claimed to have never used them. The next morning Dario did not leave

Busto Arsizio Busto Arsizio (; lmo, label= Bustocco, Büsti Grandi) is an Italian city and ''comune'' in the south-easternmost part of the Province of Varese, in the region of Lombardy, in Northern Italy, north of Milan. The economy of Busto Arsizio is main ...

because he was fired by his team. Later it turned out that Frigo had also been scammed since the label of those vials didn't match the product they were supposed to contain. However, Frigo had tried to procure an illicit product and so he was sentenced to a 6-month ban until 8 March 2002. In 2002 he was hired by Tacconi Sport and on his return to racing, in Paris–Nice, he won the hardest stage at the

Col d'Èze The Col d'Èze is a mountain pass in the Alpes-Maritimes department of France. It is located between Nice and Monaco, near to La Trinité. Cycling The pass is particularly well known for its frequent inclusion in the Paris–Nice road cycli ...

. He then won a stage and the final classification of the

. He returned to the Giro d'Italia, but while still managing to stay with the leaders, he finished with a modest 10th place in the standings, 11'50" off the winner

Paolo Savoldelli Paolo Savoldelli (born 7 May 1973 in Clusone, province of Bergamo) is a former Italian road racing cyclist and winner of the 2002 and 2005 Giro d'Italia. Savoldelli was a climber but known for his fast downhill riding. He is nicknamed ''Il F ...

. After the Giro he won the national time trial championship and started the

Tour de France The Tour de France () is an annual men's multiple-stage bicycle race primarily held in France, while also occasionally passing through nearby countries. Like the other Grand Tours (the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a España), it consists ...

, where he won the 17th stage in Megève. After finishing the Tour, he won

Subida a Urkiola Subida a Urkiola is a one-day cycling race in Durango, Biscay of the Basque Country. The route starts in Durango and ends at the Sanctuary of Urkiola. The first edition began in 1931 and is organized by the Sociedad Ciclista Bilbaina, but has not ...

and the World Cup Classic Zurich Metzgete, in August, placing 5th in the

UCI World Ranking The UCI men's road racing world rankings are a point system which is used to rank men's road cycling riders. Points are accrued over a rolling 52 weeks in three categories (Individual, Nations and Teams). Also Year-End rankings exist, based on ...

. In 2003 he started strong and in the first half of the season he won 6 races: a stage at Paris–Nice, a stage and the final classification both at the

Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana The Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana (; en, Tour of the Valencian Community or Tour of Valencia) is a road cycling stage race held in the Valencian Community (''Comunitat Valenciana''), Spain. Its position in the cycling calendar means it is ofte ...

and at the Setmana Catalana and a stage in the Giro that placed him in 7th overall. Towards the end of the season, he competed in the

Vuelta a España The Vuelta a España (; en, Tour of Spain) is an annual multi-stage bicycle race primarily held in Spain, while also occasionally making passes through nearby countries. Inspired by the success of the Tour de France and the Giro d'Italia, the ...

, finishing in twenty-first place. He also took part in the World Championships in both the individual time trial and road race in Hamilton. He ended the season with a third place in the

Giro di Lombardia The Giro di Lombardia ( en, Tour of Lombardy), officially ''Il Lombardia'', is a cycling race in Lombardy, Italy. It is traditionally the last of the five ' Monuments' of the season, considered to be one of the most prestigious one-day events in ...

and in finished 14th in the UCI ranking. 2004 was a poor year for Frigo: he was unable to race for three months due to physical problems, and facing a slow and difficult recovery, won no races. In spite of everything, for the second consecutive year he was selected for the

World Championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

Verona Verona ( , ; vec, Verona or ) is a city on the Adige River in Veneto, Italy, with 258,031 inhabitants. It is one of the seven provincial capitals of the region. It is the largest city municipality in the region and the second largest in nor ...

. In 2005, Frigo had another bad season: as he only won one stage in the

Tour de Luxembourg The Tour de Luxembourg is an annual stage race in professional road bicycle racing held in Luxembourg. The Tour de Luxembourg is classified as a 2.Pro race, the highest rating below the World Tour, by the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI), th ...

and in July during the

, he and his wife were stopped by the French police after a ten doses of EPO were found. After being excluded from the Tour de France, he announced his decision to end his career.

Doping Investigation

Following the statements made by Dario Frigo, the Police Chief Jean-Philippe Casano carried out in-depth investigations and testified to the Judges as follows: "The inquiry diligently complies with your instructions allows us to verify and validate the assertions contained in Dario Frigo's letter, in particular identifying the different protagonists that he puts in question in a doping organization within his old team

, now dissolved." (2006/7 Judicial Police Report). Cyril Troussard (C.P.L.D) declares: "the method of doping organized within the

in 2003, described by Frigo in his letter is comparable with the Festina method" (2006/7 Judicial Police Report). M. Alain Garnier (A.M.A.) validated Frigo's statements on the existence of an omerta in the sports world concerning doping practices within teams such as the Fassa Bortolo. (Minutes 2006/7 of the Judicial Police). On 15 September 2008, at the Albertville Court, Frigo and his wife were sentenced to a 6-month suspension. The Public Prosecutor appealed. On 23 April 2009 the Chambéry Appeal Court reduced the sentence of both to 3 months suspended. The Chambéry Court, in the reasons for the sentence, states: "The investigations carried out on a rogatory commission have made it possible to give credibility to the architecture of the system denounced by Dario Frigo, that is a practice of doping athletes institutionalized and organized by the

team leaders even if the instructor magistrate complained about the absence of any collaboration with the Italian authorities. "The pressures suffered by Dario Frigo to bow to new systematic doping practices institutionalized within his team are clear". The humiliations and harassment of the

executives particularly hit a runner whose physical and psychological health had been fragile for years of doping in a "scandalous system far from sport ethics". "(Dossier nr. 08 / 00899 of 23/4/09 Chambéry Appeal Court). And the conditioning suffered by the rider in a proven environment in which the use of doping is defined as institutionalized has justified "the gentler application of the criminal law" (Dossier nr. 08/00899). During the interrogation D96 in front of the Police Chief Jean-Philippe Casano, Ferretti declares: "the (Frigo) était payé près de ... euros par a et à ce tarif qui, an employer a le droit de faire pression ...". The Ravenna Court branch of Lugo established that the Fassa Bortolo did not close due to Dario Frigo case. Although the judges recognized the "doping organized and institutionalized" in 2010 at the Court of Treviso, the Fassa Bortolo filed a civil lawsuit against Dario Frigo for the injured image of Fassa Spa, for compensation of the patrimonial and non-patrimonial damages suffered by Fassa Bortolo and quality of the author of the declarations reported in the newspaper il Gazzettino, where he remained for a month, with consequent pecuniary reparation. With sentence n. 2146/15 of 5/10/2015, the Court of Treviso rejects the request for damages from

. The judge of the Treviso Court declares: "Faced with the investigations carried out by the French authority, the "Fassa Bortolo has proved nothing about the falsity of what Frigo said, given that the apparent formal rigor towards the use of illicit substances taken by the company Fassa Bortolo was then denied by the choices made by the company itself", in particular, it cannot be overlooked that it was made use of by a sports director, Giancarlo Ferretti, with not particularly clear background, having himself proceeded to hire riders already convicted of doping or having worked to obtain the collaboration for Fassa Bortolo "and for payment "in black", by Dr. Marcos Maynar, known for his experiments and the use of prohibited substances". Dr. Marcos Maynar was present at the retreats of Castrocaro Terme (11/2002) and Marina di Bibbona (01/2003), at the Puig Trophy, Vuelta Valenciana, Semana Catalana, Vuelta al Pais Vasco, Vuelta a Catalunya, Tour de Luxembourg, Deutschland Tour, Vuelta a Burgos and Vuelta a España '03 (70 days of competitions c.ca). Fassa Bortolo appealed to the Venice Court. On 30 July 2018 the appeal was rejected. In March 2019 the deadlines for a possible appeal to the Court of Cassation expired.

Major results

;1991 : 3rd Road race, National Junior Road Championships ;1993 : 1st Stage 4

Giro della Valle d'Aosta Giro della Valle d'Aosta is a stage race road bicycle race held annually in August in Aosta Valley, Italy. Since 2005, the race is organized as a 2.2 event on the UCI Europe Tour The UCI Continental Circuits are a series of road bicycle racing ...

: 2nd

Coppa della Pace The Coppa della Pace is a professional one day cycling race held annually in Italy. It is part of UCI Europe Tour The UCI Continental Circuits are a series of road bicycle racing competitions which were introduced in 2005 by the Union Cycliste In ...

;1994 : 1st

Gran Premio di Poggiana The Gran Premio Sportivi di Poggiana is a professional one day cycling race held annually in Poggiana, Italy. It has been part of the UCI Europe Tour The UCI Continental Circuits are a series of road bicycle racing competitions which were introd ...

: 2nd Overall

::1st Stage 4 : 2nd

GP Capodarco The GP Capodarco is a European bicycle race held in Capodarco, a city ward of Fermo, Italy. Since 2005, the race has been organised as a 1.2 event on the UCI Europe Tour The UCI Continental Circuits are a series of road bicycle racing competitio ...

;1995 : 3rd

GP Industrie del Marmo The Gran Premio Industrie del Marmo is a professional one day cycling race held annually in Italy. It is part of UCI Europe Tour in category 1.2. Winners References

1988 establishments in Italy Cycle rac ...

: 5th Road race, European Under-23 Road Championships ;1997 : 6th

Trofeo Pantalica The Trofeo Pantalica was a professional road bicycle race held annually in Province of Syracuse, Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the ...

;1998 : 2nd Overall

: 3rd

Trofeo Melinda Trofeo Melinda was a single-day road bicycle race held annually in Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol, Italy. After 2005, the race was organised as a 1.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour. It was created after the disappearance of Giro dell'Umbria, held be ...

: 5th Overall

Setmana Catalana de Ciclisme The Catalan Cycling Week (''Setmana Catalana de Ciclisme'' in Catalan) was a multi-stage road bicycle race held in Catalonia, Spain. Held annually from 1963 until 2005, it was run as a 2.HC race on the UCI Europe Tour in the second half of March ...

: 5th Trofeo Forla de Navarra : 6th

Giro del Piemonte The Giro del Piemonte, since 2009 known also as Gran Piemonte, is a semi classic European bicycle race held in the Apennine Mountains, Italy. The race first took place in 1906. Since 2005, the race has been organised as a 1.HC event on the UCI Eu ...

: 6th

Klasika Primavera The Klasika Primavera ( en, Spring classic) is a single-day road bicycle race held annually in April in Amorebieta, Spain. Since 2005, the race is organised as a 1.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour The UCI Continental Circuits are a series of road ...

: 9th Overall

Tour of Galicia Tour or Tours may refer to: Travel * Tourism, travel for pleasure * Tour of duty, a period of time spent in military service * Campus tour, a journey through a college or university's campus * Guided tour, a journey through a location, directed ...

: 9th

Züri-Metzgete Züri-Metzgete (Zürich German; en, Championship of Zürich; german: Meisterschaft von Zürich) was a European Classic cycle race held annually in Zürich, Switzerland, and continued as a non-professional mass participation event from 2007 unt ...

;1999 : 1st Jersey yellow

Overall

::1st Stage 1 : 2nd Overall

Vuelta a Burgos Vuelta Ciclista a Burgos is an elite professional road bicycle racing event held annually in the Burgos province of Spain. The men's Vuelta a Burgos has been a multi-day stage race as part of the UCI Europe Tour since 2005. In 2019, a multi-day ...

: 2nd Luk-Cup Bühl : 3rd

Gran Premio Bruno Beghelli The Gran Premio Bruno Beghelli (also known as GP Beghelli) is a late season men's road bicycle race held annually in Monteveglio, near the city of Bologna, Italy. From 2005 to 2013, the race has been organised as a 1.1 event on the UCI Europe T ...

: 4th Overall

Regio-Tour The Regio-Tour is a multi-stage road bicycle race held between France, Switzerland and Germany. It was first held in 1985 and since 2005 it has been organised as a 2.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour. Famous riders like Laurent Brochard, Jan Ullrich ...

: 6th

Giro del Lazio The Giro del Lazio is a semi classic European bicycle race held in the region of Lazio, Italy. From 2005 to 2008, the race has been organised as a 1.HC event on the UCI Europe Tour The UCI Continental Circuits are a series of road bicycle racing ...

: 7th Overall Paris–Nice ;2000 : 1st

: 1st Stage 4

: 2nd Overall

: 4th GP Industria & Commercio di Prato : 6th

Time trial In many racing sports, an athlete (or occasionally a team of athletes) will compete in a time trial against the clock to secure the fastest time. The format of a time trial can vary, but usually follow a format where each athlete or team sets off at ...

UCI Road World Championships The UCI Road World Championships are the annual world championships for bicycle road racing organized by the (UCI). The UCI Road World Championships consist of events for road race and individual time trial, and a mixed team relay. Events ...

: 7th Overall

Settimana Internazionale di Coppi e Bartali The Settimana Internazionale di Coppi e Bartali ( en, International Week of Coppi and Bartali), also known as Coppi e Bartali, is an Italian cycle road race. It is run typically in late March over five days in the Emilia-Romagna region of Ital ...

: 7th

Giro dell'Emilia The Giro dell'Emilia is a late season road bicycle race held annually in Bologna, Emilia-Romagna, Italy. Since 2005, the race has been organised as a 1.HC event on the UCI Europe Tour, and since 2020 it's part of the UCI ProSeries calendar. The ...

: 8th

La Flèche Wallonne La Flèche Wallonne (, French for "The Walloon Arrow") is a men's professional cycle road race held in April each year in Wallonia, Belgium. The first of two Belgian Ardennes classics, La Flèche Wallonne is today normally held mid-week betw ...

: 8th

: 9th Overall Paris–Nice ;2001 : 1st Jersey green

Overall

: 1st

Overall Paris–Nice ::1st Stage 6 ( ITT) : Giro d'Italia ::1st Stage 15 ( ITT) ::Held Jersey pink

after Stages 4–12 : 2nd Overall

: 2nd

Gran Premio di Chiasso The Gran Premio di Chiasso ( en, Grand Prix of Chiasso) was an annual road bicycle race held in Chiasso, Switzerland. It was a 1.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour The UCI Continental Circuits are a series of road bicycle racing Road bicycle racin ...

: 5th Overall Giro Riviera Ligure Ponente : 7th

: 10th Overall

Tour of the Basque Country The Tour of the Basque Country (Officially: ''Itzulia Basque Country'', es, Vuelta al País Vasco, links=no, eu, Euskal Herriko Itzulia) is an annual road cycling stage race held in the Spanish Basque Country in April. It is one of the races ...

;2002 : National Road Championships ::1st MaillotItalia

::2nd Road race : 1st Jersey yellow

Overall

::1st Stage 2 : 1st

: 1st

: 1st Stage 17

: 2nd Luk-Cup Bühl : 5th

Clásica de San Sebastián The Donostia-Donostia Klasikoa — Clásica San Sebastián-San Sebastián (San Sebastián Classic) is a one-day professional men's bicycle road race in northern Spain that has been held every summer since 1981 in San Sebastián. It is the m ...

: 7th

: 8th Overall Paris–Nice ::1st Stage 6 : 9th

: 10th Overall Giro d'Italia ;2003 : 1st Jersey yellow

Overall

::1st Stage 1 ( ITT) : 1st Jersey yellow

Overall

::1st Stage 4 : 1st Stage 4 ( ITT) Paris–Nice : 3rd

: 4th Overall

: 5th

: 7th Overall Giro d'Italia ::1st Stage 18 ;2004 : 2nd

Coppa Ugo Agostoni The Coppa Ugo Agostoni is a semi classic European bicycle race held in Lissone, Italy. The race is held in memory of Italian cyclist Ugo Agostoni, winner of prestigious classic Milan–San Remo, killed during World War II. It is also called ''Gi ...

: 3rd

: 3rd Giro delle Colline del Chianti : 7th

: 8th

Tre Valli Varesine The Tre Valli Varesine is a semi classic European bicycle race held in Varese, Italy. Since 2005, the race has been organised as a 1.HC event on the UCI Europe Tour. It is usually the first and most important race of Trittico Lombardo, which con ...

: 8th

;2005 : 1st Stage 3

: 4th

Trofeo Laigueglia The Trofeo Laigueglia is an early season road bicycle race held annually in Liguria, Italy. From 2005 to 2014, the race was organised as a 1.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour. It is held about ten days after the opening to the Italian season, the G ...

Grand Tour general classification results timeline

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Frigo, Dario Living people 1973 births Italian male cyclists Italian Tour de France stage winners Italian Giro d'Italia stage winners Doping cases in cycling Cyclists from the Province of Varese

Career

Doping Investigation

Major results

Grand Tour general classification results timeline

See also

External links