On Tuesday, our favorite curly-haired, ultra-Euro climber was suspended for two years after showing some funny Biological Passport numbers prior to the 2010 Giro d'Italia. As a result, Franco Pellizotti says he's quitting.
We've heard that before, of course — most notably from Alexander Vinokourov. At 33, Pellizotti could easily come back and have a couple of productive years. The question is, will he?
And the question for you is this: would you? If, for some reason, you were not allowed to race for two years — for whatever reason — would you continue to train in hopes of coming back after the hiatus? Or would you walk away, call it good and find something else to occupy your time?
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Posted by: Brian | March 09, 2011 at 07:31 AM
Franco seems to be an Italian Landis, without the blatant admission. He blames leadership and finds it hard to find fault in himself, which is why it's hard for him to agree with the ban, because he may have/could have been involved in something above him that was brought down on him. He also seems to have the same apathy towards change in the sport. This is a very negative situation that also brings to light the possibility of Contador eventually hanging up the bike too. Here's to hoping guys like Ben King can Joe D. bring us positive news in the cycling journals!
Posted by: Rugg | March 09, 2011 at 09:35 AM
An injury kept me from racing for almost a year and I couldn't wait to get back to it.
Funny how negative a connotation the phrase "positive news" can have. Hopefully Ben, Joe et al are spared from that entire aspect.
Posted by: Dave Kirkpatrick | March 09, 2011 at 10:12 AM
Racing is wonderful but I'm a bike guy and racing is just a significant aspect of that. If I could never race again... yeah, that'd suck, there's nothing like the feeling of going deep into the cave, then coming out with a feeling of accomplishment for having beaten a nemesis in a race or just having overcome, but the loss of racing would ultimately be a minor loss for me. Now if I couldn't ride with my friends, blow off stress into or on the way out from work, or experience a sunrise out on the mountain bike, or do an occasional pub crawl on the bike, that'd be heartbreaking.
Posted by: Jim | March 09, 2011 at 11:20 AM
no races, no motivation to ride.
Posted by: supfast | March 09, 2011 at 11:30 AM