 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Full name | Leonardo Piepoli |
| Born | (1971-09-29) 29 September 1971 (age 53) La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland |
| Height | 1.69 m (5 ft 7 in) |
| Weight | 54 kg (119 lb; 8.5 st) |
| Team information | |
| Current team | Retired |
| Discipline | Road |
| Role | Rider |
| Rider type | Climbing specialist |
| Professional teams | |
| 1995–1997 | Refin–Mobilvetta |
| 1998 | Saeco–Cannondale |
| 1999–2003 | Banesto |
| 2004–2008 | Saunier Duval–Prodir |
| Major wins | |
| Giro d'Italia, 3 stages Vuelta a España, 2 stages Subida a Urkiola (1995, 1999, 2003, 2004) | |
Leonardo Piepoli (born 29 September 1971 in La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland) is a former 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. He was later suspended for two years, which effectively ended his career.
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. In the 2007 Giro d'Italia, Piepoli won the mountains classification. He has won stages in the Giro 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 lead the mountains classification, 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.
Doping allegations
Piepoli was fired from Saunier Duval on 18 July 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, but he denied this at the Italian National Olympic Committee's investigation into Riccò's case. On 6 October 2008, it was announced that two of Piepoli's samples from the Tour de France had also tested positive for CERA EPO. In a 7 January 2009 interview with the Italian newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport, Piepoli acknowledged that he had used CERA in "a moment of weakness". In January 2009, he was suspended from the sport for two years.
Career achievements
Major results
- 1995
- 1st Subida a Urkiola
- 1st Mountains classification, Tour de Suisse
- 1998
- 2nd Overall Vuelta a Burgos
- 1st Stage 4
- 3rd Clásica San Sebastián
- 1999
- 1st
Overall Vuelta a Castilla y León
- 1st Stage 2
- 1st Subida a Urkiola
- 1st Stage 4 Vuelta a Burgos
- 2000
- 1st Overall Vuelta a Burgos
- 1st Mountains classification
- 1st Overall Vuelta a Aragón
- 2nd Subida a Urkiola
- 10th Overall Giro d'Italia
- 2002
- 1st Overall Vuelta a Aragón
- 1st Stage 1
- 1st Overall Vuelta Asturias
- 1st Stage 4
- 2003
- 1st Overall Vuelta a Aragón
- 1st Stage 1
- 1st Subida a Urkiola
- 1st Subida al Naranco
- 2004
- 1st Subida a Urkiola
- 1st Stage 9 Vuelta a España
- 3rd Overall Tour de Romandie
- 3rd Overall Vuelta a Burgos
- 3rd Overall Vuelta a Aragón
- 3rd Subida al Naranco
- 2005
- 2nd Overall Volta a Catalunya
- 1st Stage 4
- 10th Overall Tour de Suisse
- 2006
- Giro d'Italia
- 1st Stage 13 & 17
- 8th Overall Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré
- 2007
- Giro d'Italia
- 1st
Mountains classification - 1st Stage 10
- 1st
- 1st Stage 9 Vuelta a España
Grand Tour general classification results timeline
| Grand Tour | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Giro d'Italia
|
DNF | 38 | DNF | 16 | DNF | 10 | DNF | — | — | — | — | 11 | 14 | DNF |
| Tour de France
|
— | 17 | — | 14 | — | DNF | 44 | — | — | — | 23 | — | — | DNF |
 Vuelta a España
|
— | — | 26 | — | 8 | — | — | — | 23 | 27 | 35 | 13 | DNF | — |
DNF - Did not finish
See also
References
- Weislo, Laura (20 July 2008). "Dueñas, Piepoli confessed". Cycling News. Future Publishing Limited. 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. Retrieved 23 December 2009.
- AP (7 January 2009). "Piepoli says he doped in "moment of weakness'". USA Today. Retrieved 23 December 2009.
- AFP (28 January 2009). "Italian cyclist banned for drug use". The Age. Fairfax Digital. Retrieved 23 December 2009.
External links
- Leonardo Piepoli at Cycling Archives (archived)
- 1971 births
- Doping cases in cycling
- Living people
- Italian male cyclists
- Italian Vuelta a España stage winners
- Italian Giro d'Italia stage winners
- Italian Tour de France stage winners
- Italian sportspeople in doping cases
- Sportspeople from La Chaux-de-Fonds
- People of Apulian descent
- 21st-century Italian sportsmen
- Vuelta a Asturias winners