Italian teams 'forced pro riders to pay to race'

On-going investigation in Italy centres on the practice of certain cycling teams to charge riders to join them, and charge them again if they want to leave

(Image credit: Watson)

Italian teams Androni, Wilier-Southeast and Bardiani required professionals to pay to race according to an ongoing investigation with testimony from Olympic gold medalist Elia Viviani (Sky).

On Friday morning, Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera lifted the lid on an Italian Olympic Committee (CONI) investigation. The case, after being closed twice by the Italian cycling federation (FCI), is going ahead thanks to the work of a CONI prosecutor.

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Gregor Brown

Gregor Brown is an experienced cycling journalist, based in Florence, Italy. He has covered races all over the world for over a decade - following the Giro, Tour de France, and every major race since 2006. His love of cycling began with freestyle and BMX, before the 1998 Tour de France led him to a deep appreciation of the road racing season.