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LATEST NEWS: ROAD BIKE ACTION NEWS DECEMBER 25, 2008
Road Bike Action & AFP
December 25, 2008
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The Katusha team is unveiled to the world.
(Photo: Roberto Bettini)
Katusha Presented In Moscow
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin was among the guests earlier this week as the country's first fully professional cycling team, Katusha, convened in chilly Moscow.
Run by former Paris-Roubaix winner Andre Tchmil, Katusha features some of cycling's elder statesmen like Australian Robbie McEwen and Filippo Pozzato of Italy, as well as younger talents such as former Olympic points race champion Mikhail Ignatiev.
It is the first Russian-owned team to compete in European cycling's elite, and will do so as of January 2009 with a 27-man roster. According to a press statement Wednesday Putin, Moldovan president Vladimir
Voronin and Giro d'Italia director Angelo Zomegnan were in attendance Tuesday as the team made its official presentation in Moscow.
Held at the headquarters of oil and gas firm Itera, the company's president, Igori Makarov, said he was hoping the team's existence would spark a golden era for cycling across Russia. "Finally, Russian cycling has stepped into the professional realm. We have waited a long time for this moment, and it was necessary to overcome a lot of barriers, problems and resistance on the way," he said.
He added: "Katusha is a combination of the social, economic and political components expressed in sports and is a powerful project supported by serious partners aimed at developing cycling in Russia, creating possibilities for young riders and a representation of the glory of our native land."
2009 Katusha Team
Laszlo Bodrogi (HUN), Alexander Botcharov (RUS), Pavel Brutt (RUS), Toni Colom (ESP), Kenny De Haes (BEL), Nikita Eskov (RUS), Denis Galimzyanov (RUS), Joan Horrach (ESP), Mikhail Ignatiev (RUS), Serguei Ivanov (RUS), Vladimir Karpets (RUS), Serguei Klimov (RUS), Alexei Markov (RUS), Luca Mazzanti (ITA), Robbie McEwen (AUS), Guennadi Mikhailov (RUS), Danilo Napolitano (ITA), Yevgeny Petrov (RUS), Christian Pfannberger (AUT), Filippo Pozzato (ITA), Ivan Rovny (RUS), Alexander Serov (RUS), Gert Steegmans (BEL), Ben Swift (GBR), Nikolai Trusov (RUS), Stijn Vandenbergh (BEL), Maxime Vantomme (BEL).
 Piepoli has admitted to using CERA during the 2008 Tour de France
(Photo: Roberto Bettini)
Piepoli Admits Doping
Leonardo Piepoli admitted doping during the 2009 Tour de France. The Italian is looking at a two-year suspension and at age 37 the end of his career.
"I made a mistake and it is right that I pay. I was advised by the wrong people in difficult moments, but I made the mistake," Piepoli said to La Gazzetta dello Sport.
The French anti-doping agency (AFLD) found him positive for CERA in tests done on July 4 and 15 during the Tour de France. Piepoli won stage 10 to Hautacam, before his Saunier Duval-Scott team withdrew from the race after his teammate Riccardo Riccò tested positive for CERA.
Piepoli stated that he injected himself with CERA, but did not give any further information in his meeting with Italian Olympic Committee (CONI) anti-doping prosecutor Ettore Torri. Piepoli did not name his supplier saying, "It is futile to name names, it is a lot of people who were already prosecuted."
Torri, called for a two-year suspension shortly after the meeting. Italy's anti-doping tribune will rule on the suspension request and make a final decision in the coming weeks.
 Bileka (R) has been suspended for two years for using EPO
(Photo: Roberto Bettini)
Bileka Suspended For Two Years
Ukrainian cyclist Volodymyr Bileka tested positive in April for the use of EPO. The International Cycling Union (UCI) has suspended him for two years.
The 29-year-old Bileka started this season in the colors of Silence-Lotto. In early May, he for "personal reasons" suddenly quit the Belgian Silence-Lotto team. Shortly afterwards, Bileka announced his retirement from cycling.
In 2003 Bilekia was a member of the Landbouwkrediet-Colnago team, where he was a teammate of his compatriot Yaroslav Popovych. He followed Popovych to Discovery Channel in 2005, and then again to Silence-Lotto in 2008.
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