Polti rider on Contador and Basso’s team nailed for doping

On Tuesday, the UCI announced that Germán Darío Gómez Becerra, who rides (rode?) for Team Polti VisitMalta tested positive for Boldenone and one of its metabolites. Boldenone is a good ole anabolic steroid. It was originally developed for veterinary use, but for athletes it’s used to increase muscle mass, strength, and red blood cell production.

Polti 2.0

Gómez Becerra’s team was (is?) sponsored by a familiar name in cycling, Polti.

Polti came back to the pro cycling peloton in 2024. It’s an Italian household appliance company that has a rich history in the sport. Originally, Team Polti was an Italian professional cycling team active from the early 1990s to 2000.

The team had all kinda superstars. After being chucked from the 1998 Tour de France during the Festina Affair, Richard Virenque joined Team Polti for the 1999–2000 seasons. Virengue won the Mountains classification in both years. The Frenchman also insisted he was clean, even as his former Festina teammates admitted using EPO.

A history of appliance

In 2007, ex-Polti rider Jörg Jaksche said he dabbled in the good stuff. He said he was first introduced to EPO by directeur sportif Gianluigi Stanga during the 1997 Tour de Suisse.

Then there’s the former world champion Gianni Bugno. The Italian star also raced for Polti towards the end of his career. He rode for several teams with a…dubious history of blood boosters. (But was never caught.)

In fact, the only time he got popped was for caffeine in 1994. Back then, it was possible to use caffeine if it was under a certain threshold. And he went way over it. For that, he received a two-year suspension.

But anyway, let’s not dwell the past. The current Polti team is run by Alberto Contador and Ivan Basso. Basso was a star cyclist, riding for teams like CSC or US Postal, and won the Giro d’Italia twice. In May 2007,

Basso appeared before the Italian National Olympic Committee, and admitted his involvement in a drug scandal, describing it as “attempted doping” and acknowledging that, while he hadn’t actually doped, he was aware that attempting it is equivalent to doping, and said he would serve his suspension before returning to racing. Anyway, he was suspended for two years.

Contador and Basso

Contador tested positive for the banned substance clenbuterol during the 2010 Tour de France. He claimed the trace amount came from contaminated meat, but the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) ruled against him, determining he…