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Career end Chiappucci retires from competition
Posted: Sunday March 19, 2000 01:54 PM
VARESE, Italy (Reuters) -- Veteran Italian rider Claudio Chiappucci, nicknamed "El Diablo" (the Devil), bowed out of competitive cycling on Sunday after a 15-year career. "I'm very moved to see so many friends here for me," Chiappucci said in Varese, north of Milan, where a final race was held in his honor. Chiappucci, 37, said he was not bidding farewell to cycling completely. "I already have some plans, in particular in Spain, for some courses I will be running to teach young riders how to race. "In the future, I would also like to have my own team, but there will be time for that later. We'll see." Chiappucci rode in his 12-kilometer last race wearing a yellow and black jersey emblazoned with the words "El Diablo." The race, dubbed "La Chiappucci," will be an annual event. Chiappucci on Saturday attacked what he said was a dramatic change in the sport in recent years. "Only winning matters, so it's far less fun to watch. And there are too many accountants in a sport where scoring points is all that counts. Riders have got to strive to be daring." Chiappucci has announced his retirement before -- he had said he expected 1997 to be his last season. At his best, El Diablo was a formidable climber and won king of the mountains in three Giro d'Italias as well as the Milan-San Remo classic in 1991. However, his career had been under a cloud since he failed blood doping tests in May and October 1997, putting him out of the world road race championships and the Giro.
Copyright 2003 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved.
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