Rodolfo Massi (Italian pronunciation: [roˈdɔlfo ˈmassi]; born 17 September 1965) is an Italian former professional road bicycle racer. He won a stage in 1996 Giro d'Italia and 1998 Tour de France, but was expelled from the 1998 Tour de France after illegal doping was found in his hotel room. In the 1990 Tour de France, Massi was the Lanterne rouge.
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Full name | Rodolfo Massi |
| Nickname | Il Farmacista (The Pharmacist)[1] |
| Born | 17 September 1965 Corinaldo, Italy |
| Team information | |
| Current team | Retired |
| Discipline | Road |
| Role | Rider |
| Professional teams | |
| 1987 | Magniflex |
| 1988 | Alba Cucine-Benotto |
| 1989 | Atala–Campagnolo |
| 1990–1991 | Ariostea |
| 1992 | Jolly Componibili-Club 88 |
| 1993–1994 | Amore & Vita–Galatron |
| 1995–1996 | Refin |
| 1997–1998 | Casino |
| 1999 | Liquigas |
| 2000 | Cantina Tollo–Regain |
| 2001 | Mobilvetta Design-Formaggi Trentini |
| 2002 | Amore & Vita–Beretta |
| 2003 | Colombia–Selle Italia |
| Major wins | |
Grand Tours
| |
Biography
editAs an amateur, Massi won many races, and when he became a professional cyclist in 1987, much was expected from him.[1] In 1988, he broke a leg, and after the operation, one of his legs was a few centimeters shorter than the other. Massi often complained that he was not able to cycle in a regular way, and became a domestique for many different teams.[1]
In 1998, he had his best year. He won the Tour Méditerranéen and the Giro di Calabria.[1] In the Tour de France, he won a mountain stage, and after the 16th stage was in seventh place in the general classification, and leading the mountains classification, when corticoids were found in his hotel room.[2] He was questioned by the police, and was not able to start the next stage. Massi was the first rider in history to be arrested for breaking doping laws.[3] Later, all legal charges against him were dropped,[4] but the Italian Olympic Committee banned him for six months.[5]
Major results
editSource:[6]
- 1987
- 9th Giro di Toscana
- 1988
- 2nd Trofeo Pantalica
- 7th Trofeo Laigueglia
- 1989
- 3rd Gran Premio Città di Camaiore
- 1990
- 5th Gran Premio Città di Camaiore
- 8th Trofeo Laigueglia
- 9th Giro dell'Appennino
- 1991
- 4th Trofeo Laigueglia
- 1992
- 7th Overall Giro del Trentino
- 1993
- 10th Giro di Toscana
- 1994
- 1st
Overall Settimana Internazionale di Coppi e Bartali- 1st Stage 1
- 5th Overall Tour de Suisse
- 8th Overall Tirreno–Adriatico
- 1995
- 3rd Giro del Friuli
- 6th GP Industria & Artigianato di Larciano
- 1996
- 1st Stage 10 Giro d'Italia
- 2nd Trofeo Laigueglia
- 3rd Overall Vuelta a Murcia
- 4th Giro dell'Appennino
- 6th Overall Tirreno–Adriatico
- 6th Overall Giro del Trentino
- 1st Stage 5
- 8th Trofeo Pantalica
- 10th Trofeo Melinda
- 1997
- 1st Tour du Haut Var
- 1st Stage 4 Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana
- 5th Overall Étoile de Bessèges
- 6th Trofeo Laigueglia
- 9th Grand Prix d'Ouverture La Marseillaise
- 10th Overall Tirreno–Adriatico
- 10th Overall Grand Prix du Midi Libre
- 10th Overall Tour Méditerranéen
- 1998
- 1st
Overall Tour Méditerranéen - Tour de France
- 1st Stage 10
- Held
after Stages 10–17
- 1st Stage 2 Critérium International
- 3rd Liège–Bastogne–Liège
- 3rd Paris–Camembert
- 4th Tour du Haut Var
- 5th Overall Paris–Nice
- 6th Overall Tour of the Basque Country
- 7th Overall Setmana Catalana de Ciclisme
- 10th La Flèche Wallonne
- 2000
- 1st Stage 6 Grand Prix du Midi Libre
- 3rd Giro di Campania
- 8th Tre Valli Varesine
- 2001
- 8th Giro della Provincia di Siracusa
- 2002
- 7th Gran Premio di Chiasso
- 10th Overall Giro Riviera Ligure Ponente
Grand Tour general classification results timeline
edit| Grand Tour | 1987 | 1988 | 1989 | 1990 | 1991 | 1992 | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 / Vuelta a España | — | 36 | — | — | — | — | — | 56 | — | — | 20 | DNF | DNF | 34 | — | — | — |
 Giro d'Italia | 24 | — | 85 | 35 | — | 94 | DNF | 37 | 48 | 35 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 67 |
| Tour de France | — | — | — | 156 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | DNF | — | — | — | — | — |
| — | Did not compete |
|---|---|
| DNF | Did not finish |
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b c d "Italiaan Massi de apotheker van het peloton" (in Dutch). NRC. 31 July 1998.
- ^ Davis, Justin (3 July 2008). "Ten Years Later, Festina Doping Affair Still Not Forgotten". bicycle.net. Bicycle. Retrieved 19 April 2010.
- ^ Lieshout, Marcel van (3 August 1998). "Een Tour die voortleeft als de ronde van de dopingschandalen" (in Dutch). Volkskrant. Retrieved 19 April 2010.
- ^ "'Festina Affair': A timeline". BBC Sport. 24 October 2000. Retrieved 19 April 2010.
- ^ "Cycling News and Analysis". Cyclingnews. 4 November 1998. Retrieved 19 April 2010.
- ^ Rodolfo Massi at Cycling Archives