Banned for life ex-pro Di Luca sees Italy and Spain slip as cycling nations

Former professional Danilo Di Luca has carried a lifetime ban for doping since 2013, handed down after he tested positive for EPO at the Giro d'Italia. The Italian Giro winner still follows the sport closely, but sees a troubling trend developing — particularly in his home country. Speaking to Spanish outlet AS, he reflected on how much the sport has changed since his time.

Di Luca was regarded as an excellent climber. As well as winning the 2007 Giro d'Italia, he claimed all three Ardennes Classics. His career was not without controversy — he had already served a temporary ban for contact with a prohibited doctor before the 2013 EPO positive brought it to a definitive end.

He has never accepted the sanction. "I don't understand the lifetime ban. We all make mistakes in life, but after this one it's over for me permanently. I didn't murder anyone. I'm a good person."

Di Luca's main focus, though, is the contrast with the sport as it once was — and in particular the decline of Italy and Spain. "Everything has changed. Italy is worse off than Spain, because we don't even have a WorldTour team." He believes the problems start with the national federations. "If a son tells his father today that he wants to go cycling, the father immediately says no. It's too dangerous, there are fewer fans, less coverage, less of everything," he said, with concern.

Despite the presence of Lorenzo Finn and Giulio Pellizzari, Di Luca points out that neither is a talent in the mould of a Paul Seixas. He criticises the lack of structure in Italy. "Cycling used to be Italian, French, Belgian and Spanish. Now it's basically just Belgian," he said, underlining the enormous atmosphere around Belgian racing. "In Italy, there's no real appetite for it any more. Cycling is now just one sport on a long list. Once it was at the top."

He also sees a change in passion. "Before, cycling was something you did with your heart, something you would give up everything for. That's much less the case now." The sport has become far more predictable, too, driven by data and statistics. "Watts, kilometres, how much they ate during a race — that's what they stare at today. We were more human."

"Because there are so few unexpected moments or spontaneity, you can easily predict the winner these days. When Pogačar is in the race, he wins. Give him three punctures and he finishes second behind Van Aert at Roubaix. I wouldn't even have gone to watch that race," the former Italian pro concluded. "Everything has changed."