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Italian to return to WorldTour next year
Filippo Pozzato will once again face the Italian Olympic Committee (CONI) at 1045am Tuesday after admitting to receiving training programs from the controversial and banned Dr Michele Ferrari from 2005 to 2009. Pozzato has already stood before CONI in late June with the Committee set to request a formal ban.
Pozzato has already been officially charged and the Farnese Vini-Selle Italia rider could receive a one-year ban from competition, as stated by the Italian Cycling Federation (FCI).
The FCI forbids all Italian UCI license holders from consulting with the Ferrari, who received a life ban in 2002. Pozzato admitted to working with the doctor after reports by La Repubblica of intercepted phone conversations where Pozzato allegedly requests the services of Ferrari.
“If you go to see him in his own house, then you’re responsible,” Pozzato is alleged to have said. “You don’t have a gun pointed to your head. I wanted to go to Ferrari. We’re grown-ups aren’t we?”
After being sidelined from the London Olympic Games and also missing out on being selected for the upcoming UCI Road World Championships due to his involvement with Ferrari, Pozzato will most likely return to competition next season – with a ProTeam.
According to BiciCiclismo, Pozzato has two ProTeam offers on the table for the 2013 season. Team Katusha, who Pozzato spent three seasons with between 2009 and 2011 has reportedly offered a welcome return to the Russian squad while Movistar has also made their intensions clear to sign the 31-year-old.
It’s been a tough season for the Italian who hasn’t raced since his withdrawal of the Giro d’Italia at the end of stage 9 when he broke his hand in a fall. His current contract with Farnese Vini expires at the end of this year and depending on the start date for Pozzato’s likely ban, he may also miss next year’s spring classics season.
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