Mario Cipollini was once one of the most dazzling stars in the world of cycling, now the former world champion has to go to prison: the sprint specialist and multiple stage winner in the major national tours is, according to the court, an "extremely violent man".
Former Italian cycling star Mario Cipollini has been sentenced to three years in prison. A court in his hometown of Lucca punished the 55-year-old ex-world champion for threats and violence against his ex-wife Sabrina Landucci, as reported by the Ansa news agency. According to the indictment, Cipollini was specifically accused of "committing a series of acts that compromised the physical and psychological integrity of his ex-wife through beatings, slaps, kicks, injuries and death threats". In addition to the prison sentence, the ex-sprinter has to pay a fine of 85,000 euros. Cipollini was also found guilty of threatening Landucci's new partner, ex-footballer Silvio Giusti.
Landucci reported the incidents in January 2017. The court described Cipollini in the verdict as an "extremely violent, extremely threatening and extremely abusive man", as the portal cyclingnews.com reports. According to statements in court, the former cycling star is said to have once threatened Landucci with a gun because, in his opinion, she was wearing a skirt that was too short. "He grabbed my neck and then banged my head against the wall. I had injuries, I had to go to the emergency room," Landucci testified. Now she is "happy, even if this verdict comes at the end of a long and difficult road."
Cipollini had rejected the allegations in court, he did not appear at the hearing. The former world champion's lawyers announced that they intend to appeal the verdict. The public prosecutor had asked for two and a half years in prison.
Cipollini was one of the most dazzling stars of cycling, especially in the 1990s. The "Lion King" achieved 161 victories, including 42 successes at the Giro d'Italia and 12 at the Tour de France. In 2002 he became world champion and won the classic Milan-Sanremo, three times he won Gent-Wevelgem.
The sprinter was one of the most dazzling personalities in cycling. After a Tour de France stage win that saw him wear the yellow jersey, he became the first rider to wear a yellow jersey-themed one-piece suit during the Tour de France - earning him numerous fines. He provoked the race organizers by abandoning Grand Tours before the mountain stages, once being disqualified from a race for punching another rider in the face.
Cipollini's name also appeared in the "Operation Puerto" affair, in the course of which numerous professional cyclists were accused or convicted of doping. Cipollini denies any involvement in the practice of doping and has not been penalized to this day.
