15th place. Season victories Away from competition Dismissal of Riccardo Riccò Having made his season début with a seventh place in the Grand Prix d'Ouverture La Marseillaise in France on January 30, and prior to travelling to the Tour Méditerranéen, Riccò was admitted to hospital in Pavullo nel Frignano on February 6, with his father Rubinho stating that his son had apparent "kidney failure" and a body temperature of ; he was later transferred to a hospital in Modena. Two days later, the Italian State Police confirmed that they were investigating Riccò for blood doping, after an apparent self-administered autologous blood transfusion at his home, and obtained his medical records while Riccò was in hospital recovering. His team also released a statement that day, calling the reports "a rumour", but started their own investigation into the matter, and if found to have doped, Riccò would be sacked as a violation of UCI anti-doping rules. Personalities within the cycling world condemned Riccò for returning to doping, having already served a 20-month ban for the banned blood booster CERA in 2008. After conducting their investigation, the team announced that they had suspended Riccò on February 11, also indicating that they had sent a letter of their decision to Riccò. Following this scandal, as well as the continued allegations over teammate Mosquera in 2010, the UCI had planned to look at the credibility of having the team at the highest echelon of the sport – as a ProTeam – with Riccò's points making up a proportion of the team's allocation in regards to a ProTeam licence. Riccò was sacked by the team on February 19, on the basis of their "zero-tolerance policy" on doping. The team later announced a more stringent policy on how they deal with doping. Having previously given Leukemans a second chance after a positive test for artificial testosterone, team manager Daan Luijkx stated that the team would not give riders a second chance to prove their capabilities after Riccò's situation. Riccò announced his intention to never race again in March, but signed with Continental team Meridiana-Kamen in June in the hope of competing in the Tour de Serbie. This did not transpire, as he was suspended by the Italian National Olympic Committee prior to the race, in relation to the February blood transfusion. He eventually received a twelve-year ban from the Italian National Anti-Doping Tribunal in April 2012. Footnotes