Michele Ferrari



Michele Ferrari (born March 26, 1953) is an Italian physician, cycling coach and author.

Ferrari and the dopeing allegations
Ferrari was born in Ferrara, Emilia-Romagna, where he still lives. After an early career researching and publishing papers concerning the anaerobic threshold of various athletes, he settled on his lifelong interest in the development of training programmes for professional cyclists.

One of Ferrari's earliest successes was coaching Francesco Moser to achieve the hour record in 1984, crushing the great Eddy Merckx's mark by more than a mile. In 1999 Ferrari publicly admitted that this was achieved using blood doping which at that time had not yet been identified as a method of cheating and banned by the cycling authorities. Initially Ferrari worked with Prof. Conconi in Ferrara, who developed testing techniques for human performance, using methods such as monitoring the heart rate during exercise and recovery. Another controversial Italian doctor, Luigi Cecchini, is their common disciple. They share the care for some cyclists throughout their careers.

From 1984 onwards Ferrari achieved extraordinary improvements in the fitness of many cyclists.

Various not so reliable sources on cycling doping (Erwann Menthéour etc.) claim that Michele Ferrari was one of the best doping doctors, with unparalleled expertise at avoiding detection. They quote an amusing comparison - that Eric Rijkaert, the doctor of the Festina team, was nicknamed "Punto" (a small model of Fiat automobile) for his carefulness compared to the high performances yielded by Ferrari. His public statements reveal a pragmatist whose aims was to get the best results without getting caught. "If it doesn't show up in the drug controls, then it's not doping,", "EPO is not dangerous, it's the abuse that is. It's also dangerous to drink ten liters of orange juice." are statements of Ferrari's that are on the public record.

Perhaps the most famous athlete to have been coached / advised by Ferrari is Lance Armstrong, who retained his services after other top cyclists had dropped him due to his tainted reputation. Ferrari was involved with the US Postal Service Cycling Team until October 2004, helping Armstrong to seven straight Tour de France victories. Armstrong responded to the guilty verdict in the Italian Court case in the Following way;


 * I was disappointed to learn of the Italian court's judgment against Dr. Michele Ferrari. Dr. Ferrari has been a longtime friend and trusted adviser to me and the USPS team, during which time he never suggested, prescribed or provided me with any performance-enhancing drugs. I was pleased to hear that Dr. Ferrari was acquitted of the charge of providing illegal drugs to athletes. I am not surprised by that verdict. However, I have always said that I have zero tolerance for anyone convicted of using or facilitating the use of performance-enhancing drugs. As a result of today's developments, the USPS team and I have suspended our professional affiliation with Dr. Ferrari as we await the release of the full verdict, which will contain Judge Maurizio Passerini's reasoning. In the meantime, I personally wish the very best for Dr. Ferrari and his family during this difficult time.

Ferrari's conviction in Italian court was based partly on testimony from Italian bicycle racer Filippo Simeoni. Admitting he had been doped since 1993, he went on to tell how he became affiliated with Ferrari in 1996. Apart from a prescription of EPO hormone, "we spoke about andriol (testosterone) which I was to use after hard training sessions with the aim of increasing my muscular power", as testified by Simeoni. In order to avoid being busted by anti-doping controlles, "Dr. Ferrari recommended I use Emagel the morning before controls, and another product to decrease my haematocrit", Simeone testified. Ferrari's own indignant testimony in the trial reveals his pragmatic yet very true and honest attitude to the use of illegal substances: "Andriol is easily detectable for several days in a normal urine test," Ferrari explained. "So, it is impossible that I suggested he take one Andriol 20 hours before another race." Clearly, one of the several inconsistencies in Simeoni's accusations, entirely made up so that he, cooperating with italian prosecutors, could have a reduced doping sentence.

Ferrari and the court of appeals
On May 27, 2006, CyclingNews.com reported that the Italian appeals court was forced to absolve Ferrari of guilt. Other sources note that the charges were dismissed due to the expiration of the Limitation Period, or the Statute of Limitations; that being substantive evidence was not produced within the allotted time after being charged with the crime, not, necessarily, due to proven innocence.

Athletes associated with Michele Ferrari

 * All of the Team Gewiss that took the entire podium in the 1994 edition of La Flèche Wallonne with Moreno Argentin, Giorgio Furlan and Eugeni Berzin
 * Lance Armstrong
 * Paolo Savoldelli
 * Mario Cipollini
 * Gianni Bugno
 * Pavel Tonkov
 * Tony Rominger: former cyclist, manager of Contador, Vinokourov, Evans and Kessler, amongst others
 * Abraham Olano
 * Ivan Gotti
 * Claudio Chiappucci
 * Filippo Simeoni: admitted the use of doping
 * Patrik Sinkewitz: had a positive out-of-competition test while preparing for the 2007 Tour de France
 * Eddy Mazzoleni
 * Levi Leipheimer
 * Floyd Landis: tested positive on testosterone during the 2006 Tour de France
 * George Hincapie
 * Axel Merckx
 * Alexandre Vinokourov: positive doping test at the 2007 Tour de France