More drama for former Italian pro Andrea Piccolo. According to Italian reports, officers from the Carabinieri (sort of the Italian RCMP) stopped Piccolo in the city centre. Then, they allegedly found counterfeit banknotes (around 2 grand in phoney Euro) concealed inside his car.
The incident unfolded when a patrol noticed a Porsche Macan parked with San Marino license plates.
That was a detail that reportedly caught their attention, according to FanPages.It. During the inspection, Piccolo—who resides in San Marino—was identified as the driver. Authorities say fake bills were discovered hidden beneath the steering wheel. Two other unnamed people were also present in the car at the time of the stop.
The downfall of Piccolo
Piccolo was regarded as one of Italy’s most promising young riders. He would ultimately spend several years with EF Education–EasyPost–before his career came to an abrupt finish. While he never claimed a professional victory with the American squad, he did wear red leader’s jersey at the 2023 Vuelta a España.
He was a promising junior, winning gold at the 2019 UEC European TT championships. After that he raced with the Continental team Colpack Ballan before moving up to the pro ranks with Astana–Premier Tech for 2021. However, he parted ways with the WorldTour team in late May without racing for them due to health issues identified during a training camp early in the season. After that, he then raced with Jonathan Vaughters’ team as of 2022.
The suspension
But his cycling career unraveled rapidamente after he was detained at the Italian border two years ago. Piccolo was stopped by authorities upon returning to Italy on suspicion of “transporting growth hormone.”
The Italian admitted to transporting four different substances, which he chose not to name, but defended himself by stating he had never tested positive for any banned substances. But the good ole Italian National Anti-Doping Tribunal responded with a provisional suspension.
After the firing, EF said in a statement that it will “cooperate fully with any investigation into the matter, and we encourage Andrea to be open and truthful with anti-doping authorities.”
The new career
After “stepping away” from professional racing, Piccolo reinvented himself as a content creator on OnlyFans. His bio on the platform says, translated from Italian, “Come get to know a part of me that no one else knows.” His partner at the time, Colombian model/influencer…
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