Francesco Gavazzi (Lampre-ISD) was awarded the win as a result of Freire’s relegation to 47th place on the stage. The Italian told Freire that it was Lampre-ISD directeur sportif Maurizio Piovani who had lod♓ged an objection rather than the rider himself.
Nonetheless, the triple wor⛄ld champion Freire was indignant on he🐭aring of the commissaires’ decision.
“It’s a disgrace,” Freire said afterwards, according to . “Neither I nor anybody else expected ♛it. I asked the guy who was second, Gavazzi, if he was ashamed to climb onto the podium because he was with me with 200 metres to go and I was quicker.”
Freire maintained that h🦋e had not been deliberately pushed by Luis Le𝔉on Sanchez, but rather that his teammate patted his back in order to let him know that he could pass.
“He touched me to tell me to pass,” Freire insisted. “There was still long eno🌼ugh to the finish and it was in the final 100 me꧙tres that I made the difference, not when I was touched.”
The eventual stage winner Gavazzi was one of 32 people named by Tuttobici yesterday as possibly facing charges after the conclusion of the Mantova-based investigation into alleged doping practices centred on pharmacist Guido Nigrelli and his involvement with the Lampre team.
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