Giro star sacked over drugs

Frigo had been second for much of the race

Dario Frigo has been ditched by his Fassa Bortolo team after being found in possession of illegal drugs during a police raid on his hotel room in San Remo.

The team received an official notice from the police late on Thursday that drugs had been discovered the previous evening.

"Dario admitted this and so, as under the rules of the team, he was immediately sacked," Frigo's manager Giancarlo Ferretti confirmed.

Ferretti however refused to specify which drugs had been found.

The behaviour of the rider is completely unacceptable

Fassa Bortolo statement

One of cycling's rising stars, Frigo won the Paris-Nice race in March.

And the Italian was lying second overall in the Giro d'Italia, 15 seconds behind compatriot Gilberto Simoni.

His sacking means he cannot complete the race and is another blow for his team, whose leader Francesco Casagrande broke his wrist after the first stage.

Race director Carmine Castellano said he was pleased with the team's swift response.

"The only positive aspect is the behaviour of the team. I think this shows that there is still someone who can take this matter seriously.

'Disillusioned'

But he said he was disappointed about Frigo.

"I am disillusioned," Castellano said. "I expected a better sense of reponsibility from the riders."

But a Fassa Bortolo statement added: "The team have always been against doping and declare that they are in no way involved in what has happened.

"The behaviour of the rider is completely unacceptable.

Several kinds of drugs

Police raided team hotels on Wednesday evening in the biggest crackdown on doping in cycling since the notorious 1998 Tour de France.

Some 200 officers searched the rooms of riders from all 20 teams after the 17th stage in the northern seaside town of San Remo.

Police were reported to have discovered substances including testosterone, caffeine, adrenal and anabolic steroids and other stimulants.

Thursday's 18th stage was cancelled by organisers while riders held a seven-hour meeting to discuss their response.

Liquigas inquiry

But the race resumed on Friday, with Italy's Mario Cipollini edging the sprint finish into Busto Arsizio.

Meanwhile, Italian press reported that five riders from the Liquigas team are the subjects of a judicial inquiry by prosecutors at Padua.

Liquigas general manager Fabio Bordonali confirmed all five riders are competing in the Giro.

Bordonali declined to name the riders but stressed that leading team rider and world number two Davide Rebellin, is not among them.

Also under investigation is Italian rider Ivan Gotti, who won the Tour in 1997 and 1999, after forbidden substances were found in his father-in-law's car last week.