Petacchi has retired

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rich p

rich p

ridiculous old lush
Location
Brighton
A great sprinter in his time but not untainted by the whiff of scandal or Salbutamol. It'll be a better place when the others in his generation shuffle off this immortal peloton like Rebellin, Scarponi, Garzelli, Ballan, Kloden, Popovych to name but a few.
I'm not saying they're all clean now but I like to think the majority are less unclean.
 
Buddfox

Buddfox

Veteran
Location
London
Amen to that
 
raindog

raindog

er.....
Location
France
Strange in mid-season. Hasn't won anything for ages - probably really demoralised?
Christ, 18 years!! that sneaked up on us.
I really liked him. When once asked what he liked about riding the Tour, he said "Looking round at the scenery and the animals"
 
OP
OP
rich p

rich p

ridiculous old lush
Location
Brighton
raindog said:
Strange in mid-season. Hasn't won anything for ages - probably really demoralised?
Christ, 18 years!! that sneaked up on us.
I really liked him. When once asked what he liked about riding the Tour, he said "Looking round at the scenery and the animals"
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I did wonder if he knows something that may be coming out but maybe just demotivated, as you say.
He has a pet parrot, according to cyclingnews, that he's very fond of!
 
thom

thom

____
Location
The Borough
If he knew this was his last season then as an Italian I expect he would likely want to go out at the Giro.
I would think round about now is the time for finalising team selection and face up to whether his form would realistically enable him to do so with dignity.
He's won something like 48 Grand tour stages, only Merckx and one other ahead of him I think. He's done well to be mixing it with the current crop of sprinters until recently.
The Padua investigation hangs as a cloud over much of the peloton - I do hope it bursts sooner rather than later and leaves behind fresh, clean, cool air, so to speak.
 
OP
OP
rich p

rich p

ridiculous old lush
Location
Brighton
Scarponi, Menchov, Vinoukourov, Popovych, Bileka, Kolobnev, Karpets, Gusev, Ignatiev, Kreuziger, Pozzato, Bertagnolli, Visconti, Pellizzotti
are all linked to Padua

Ballan (BMC), Cunego (Lampre-ISD), Bandiera (Omega-Quick Step), Bruseghin (Movistar), Da Dalto (Liquigas-Cannondale), Mori (Lampre-ISD), Mori (formerly of Lampre) Pietropolli (Lampre-ISD), Ponzi (Astana), Santambrogio (BMC) and Michael Rasmussen (Christina Watches). Others on the list are Lampre-ISD manager Beppe Saronni, directeurs sportifs Fabrizio Bontempi and Maurizio Piovani, and former professional Mariano Piccoli.
are linked to Mantova

I can't see Petacchi's name referenced to either but nothing would surprise me.
 
jdtate101

jdtate101

Ex-Fatman
Location
Boring Birmingham
Basso is another one who's looking really tired recently. Not done anything of note recently and is relegated to supporting roles. I'm guessing he will also retire soon.
 
O

oldroadman

Veteran
Location
Ubique
raindog said:
Rensh, Petacchi and Cav all together - how cool would that be? :becool:
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Never happpen. Petacchi is simply not fast enough any more to lead-out a top sprinter, nor can he drive on the front for enough time. The bloke is 39, at that point in a career the speed is going, stamina usually OK, more injuries, and less inclination to take big risks. All of which say retire. Apart from any oter matters that may be hanging around to make life difficult.
I do hope he does not reappear as a DS though.
 
smutchin

smutchin

Cat 6 Racer
Location
The Red Enclave
He hasn't won anything for ages. Surely he would have known before the start of this season that he was unlikely to have any more success this year? The story about being Cav's leadout man seems to be a fabrication.
 
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