Pogačar’s boss Gianetti responds to his own doping past: 'I am a victim'

Mauro Gianetti has secured his fifth Tour de France title with UAE Team Emirates-XRG, thanks to Tadej Pogacar’s incredible victories. The Swiss rider is at the helm of the world’s most successful team, but he also has a history with a team where doping was a major problem. He is now responding to that in a surprising way.

After his racing career, Gianetti became team manager at Tacconi Sport and founded the Saunier Duval team in 2004. In 2008, that team achieved phenomenal success in the Tour de France thanks to Riccardo Riccò, Leonardo Piepoli, and Juan José Cobi, but after Riccò tested positive for doping, the team withdrew from the Tour. Piepoli was later fired for violating the team’s code of ethics, and Riccò received a lifetime ban after his second positive test.

Cobo later won the Vuelta a España for GEOX, the successor to Saunier Duval. But that victory was stripped from him due to suspicious readings in his blood passport. “I made the mistake of bringing them onto my team,” Gianetti now tells L’Équipe. “I should have reacted differently, been clearer with the press, and explained that I was a victim. But my biggest concern was saving the jobs of 70 people.”

So the Swiss man maintains his innocence. “You never know what your kids are doing in their rooms, and you certainly don’t know what the riders are doing at home. And before I signed Ricco, I asked him to get tested by the UCI. The UCI then sent me a document stating that he did indeed have a naturally occurring hematocrit level above 50%. This makes me feel like a victim.”

Gianetti has filed a lawsuit in Italy against the cyclists who used performance-enhancing drugs, “who caused me to lose sponsors and damaged my reputation.” Gianetti himself was hospitalized as a cyclist in 1998 under suspicious circumstances. “That’s a personal matter; I’ve already said everything I had to say,” he says on the subject. He denies ever having used doping himself.

His past is no source of inspiration for the incredibly dominant UAE Team Emirates-XRG, which is set to take home at least six stage wins, as well as the yellow and white jerseys. Should a UAE rider win on the Champs-Élysées, this season’s victory tally will reach sixty. Last year, with 97 victories, the team came dangerously close to the magical 100-mark.

Pogacar is on track to claim his fifth Tour de France victory this year. The public is divided over his performance, and there are plenty of people complaining about foul play. “In any case, Tadej is so strong that any team would have doubts about him,” Gianetti responds. “I’m just doing my job: since 2004, I’ve invested more than €600 million in cycling by signing countless contracts and paying salaries.”