The Mantova doping investigation was an investigation for doping in cycling, centered on the Lampre cycling team, named after the Italian town

Mariana Mantovana Mariana Mantovana is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Mantua in the Italian region Lombardy, located about southeast of Milan and about west of Mantua. Mariana Mantovana borders the following municipalities: Acquanegra sul Chiese, ...

. In total, 32 persons were accused of trafficking, prescription, administration and use of prohibited substances; the trial concluded in 2015, when all involved cyclists were cleared of any wrongdoing or not found guilty, and only one pharmacist and one local rider were found guilty.

History

In 2010, Italian newspaper

La Gazzetta dello Sport ''La Gazzetta dello Sport'' (; "The Sports Gazette") is an Italian daily newspaper dedicated to coverage of various sports. Founded in 1896, it is the most widely read daily newspaper of any kind in Italy (in 2018). History and profile ''La ...

reported that the Italian police were investigating doping cases that involved 54 persons in the 2008 and 2009 seasons. Following that news, Italian cyclists

Alessandro Ballan Alessandro Ballan (born 6 November 1979 in Castelfranco Veneto, Veneto) is an Italian former professional road bicycle racer who most recently rode for UCI World Tour team . He is best known for winning the World Road Race Championships, in 200 ...

and

Mauro Santambrogio Mauro Santambrogio (born 7 October 1984 in Erba) is a former Italian professional road racing cyclist, who last rode for UCI Continental team . Career Until 2009, Santambrogio rode for , and after the 2009 season he changed to . In 2010, he wa ...

, who had left the Lampre team and were riding for , were temporarily pulled from racing by their teams because of this investigation. In April 2011, a list of 32 persons that the prosecution was planning to charge was revealed. After this, Ballan and Santambrogio were again temporarily stopped from racing by their team , missing the

2011 Giro d'Italia The 2011 Giro d'Italia was the 94th Giro d'Italia, one of cycling's Grand Tours. The race started on 7 May with a team time trial in Turin to celebrate the 150th anniversary of Italian unification, when the city served as the first capital of t ...

. The team also decided to keep all riders and staff mentioned in the Mantova doping investigation out of the 2011 Giro. In May 2011, La Gazetta Dello Sport published details from the Mantova case, including extracts of phone call transcripts where doping was discussed between riders and staff. In July 2013, a preliminary court hearing decided that the case should proceed, with a date set for December 2013; it was then also decided that 27 persons, of which 18 riders, would be on trial. The Italian committee

CONI The Italian National Olympic Committee ( it, Comitato Olimpico Nazionale Italiano, CONI), founded in 1914 and a member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), is responsible for the development and management of sports activity in Italy. ...

received documents from the prosecutor, and based on that they demanded a two year doping ban for

Resulting bans

*Cyclist Emanuele Bindi pleaded guilty, and received a one-year ban on the preliminary hearing. *In January 2014,

handed

a two-year suspension, based on the information revealed in the Mantova investigation.

In court

The court case started in December 2013; it was decided that the phone taps were admissible evidence. In 2015, prosecutor dropped several charges, and accepted that there was no evidence to prove a system of organized doping within the Lampre team. The judge decided to clear all involved cyclists from the Lampre team, including Ballan whose suspension was cleared.

References

{{reflist, 2 Doping cases in cycling