The second life of Riccardo Riccò as an entrepreneur he proceeds smoothly between overlapping commitments and many small daily satisfactions. The mistakes made are now part of a distant and increasingly remote past, which does not affect a peaceful present. The Emilian accepted his fate and transformed his darkest hour into an opportunity for personal redemption. An experience that will now also be told in schools.
How is your ice cream business going?
“Let’s go well. At the moment the one in Rocca Malatina is closed, because we only open it in summer, while the one in Vignola is always open. Furthermore, the Academy is always accessible for those who want to learn how to make ice cream and cakes. The ice cream shop is called Chocoloco“.
Are current runners better than those of your time?
“Absolutely not. Every era has its champions. But when they tell me that they are going much faster now, that the level has risen…I don’t agree. They made a beautiful painting. Then concretely, having the Strava app and seeing the times on the climbs, I don’t see all this going strong despite all the trainers, nutritionists and the technology they have at their disposal. If you give the runners of yesteryear what the runners of today have, for me they would go faster. Now they are going faster mainly for mechanical vehicles. In the preparation they only changed the names of the methodologies, for example Fondo Medio Adezzo is called z1, z2, etc., but it’s the same thing. That’s what cycling is, there’s no escaping it“.
Why are so many riders involved in doping cases today quietly in the world of cycling, even covering leading roles as if nothing had happened, while you have been completely marginalized?
“I don’t lick anyone’s dick and I say things to their face. They knew how to bow their heads and pretend to be good. They knew how to play their cards well to stay in the environment. I struggle, I can’t, it’s not my character. I’ve always preferred real people and having an argument that then ended there. In the old days of cycling you had to keep quiet, bow your head and act like a little lamb. Today cycling has changed, before as soon as you won two races in a row doubts and suspicions arose. Pogacar performs out of the ordinary, but no one says anything. Once they would have immediately alluded to doping. It’s about time, this is a positive difference. Runners must be protected“.
Do you think that your book “Heart of Cobra” caused annoyance and contributed to closing doors against you?
“I do not know. Then you see Wiggins and Ullrich who wrote heavy books, but they still get called out. Maybe they didn’t like me because I was uncomfortable and I wouldn’t shut up“.
There’s a lot of talk about Lorenzo Finn and Giulio Pellizzari for the future of Italian cycling: what are your thoughts on them?
“Pellizzari has already shown that he is a rider who can make the podium at the next Giro d’Italia, given that he will be the frontrunner for Red Bull; Maybe it’s still too early to win. In the three weeks he has shown that he is competitive, it is no small feat to understand now how he will manage the pressure of being captain and of the media. He can fight to win a Grand Tour one day. I think Finn has more natural talent-wise than Pellizzari, he’s making a perfect gradual journey, but we have to wait a bit “.
Regarding Antonio Tiberi, can we still have expectations?
“Last season was a bit subdued. There may be a bad year, in which everything goes badly for you, but I wouldn’t give the definitive verdict and I would wait a couple more years. He should be given another chance“.
Who do you see yourself in most between Finn, Pellizzari and Tiberi?
“On a character level I had nothing to do with any of them. Finn is the one who comes closest to my characteristics, Pellizzari and Tiberi more than the Ivan Basso regulars. Finn is much faster than me in the time trial, but I was faster, I even won sprints with 30-40 runners“.
Has cycling given or taken away from you in your life?
“It’s a question I struggle to answer. He gave me a lot, he was also a life teacher. It teaches you to make sacrifices, to never give up: all this has served me well in my subsequent working life. But it also took a lot away from me. I made mistakes, there’s no arguing. It must also be said, and this is not intended as a justification, that I did it to get where I wanted. It was a mandatory step if you wanted to win certain races, so I didn’t do anything different from what my colleagues did, only that they were smarter“.
Have you thought about going to schools to tell your story and raise awareness among kids?
“I have to go to a high school soon to give a lesson where I will talk about my story, my fall and my rebirth as a person. He will be at Vignola high school. It would be nice to tell it to young cyclists too. I made some mistakes, but we work from them and grow from them“.
What relationship do you have with Vincenzo Nibali?
“I have no relationship with him. In fact, he’s the one who’s always been a bit resentful towards me. In 2007, Danilo Di Luca, with whom I was very good friends and who was in the team with Nibali at Liquigas, won the Giro d’Italia. Vincenzo has always feared me as a runner. Di Luca told me that every time, every evening, he waited for the press releases with the results to find out how I got there. As long as I ran, I was going much faster than him. Nibali had done little when I took off, in my opinion he still accuses him of this. Then he blossomed and I had my problems. I don’t dispute his qualities, but I was certainly not inferior, in fact I had been superior as long as I ran“.
How did the nickname ‘Cobra’ come about?
“It was invented by Pregnolato, who was my and Pantani’s masseur. One day while he was massaging me he said to me ‘but you are like a cobra. You look your opponents in the face before shooting and then you spit the poison in their faces.’ From there the nickname was born“.
