By Agence France Presse, June 5, 2006
Two-time Giro d'Italia winner Gilberto Simoni on Monday retracted
accusations that new champion Ivan Basso asked him to pay for a win during
the 20th stage of this year's race.
Last month, Simoni claimed Basso had asked for money to let him win the 20th
stage of the Giro after the pair were left alone on a breakaway to slug it
out for victory.
Basso went on to win the stage by more than a minute but was stung by his
fellow Italian's accusations after the finish.
But after being grilled for more than an hour by an Italian disciplinary
commission in Rome, Simoni retracted his previous claims.
"I made some erroneous statements but I didn't want to damage Basso's
reputation, certain things are part of the race," said Simoni, alluding to
the common practice of Tour leaders to elicit help from a breakaway
companion in
exchange for allowing the companion to take the stage victory unopposed.
Simoni, who could now miss the Tour de France as he faces possible sanctions
for bringing the sport into disrepute, was angry that Basso had ridden away
from him on a tough mountain finish when he had waited for the CSC
rider on a downhill section.
Straight after the race, he accused Basso of ungentlemanly conduct and of
being "an extra-terrestrial," often a euphemism to suggest an opponent had
doped.
Smioni could receive a fine or even a suspension, which would more than
likely rule him out of July's Tour, although he has always had difficulty in
the Grand Boucle.
"Simoni has denied everything. There was never any question of an agreement,
even less so a sum of money," said the rider's lawyer Giuseppe Napoleone.
"However, he was interviewed straight after the finish and he was
flustered. But there was never any mention of numbers, we now want the
affair to be closed, also for the sake of the Saunier-Duval team."