To the bicycle racing community:

As the official bicycle sponsor to the Saeco/Longoni Sport pro road racing team, we were extremely gratified to learn that all charges of cocaine use against team rider Gilberto Simoni were dismissed by both the public prosecutor’s office in Trento, Italy and the Italian Cycling Federation.

Their announcement of Simoni’s innocence followed an exhaustive investigation that included chemical analysis of hair samples which would have immediately and conclusively revealed any history of drug abuse, had it existed. Instead, the samples proved entirely negative.

The investigation also included chemical analysis of homeopathic throat lozenges that Simoni had been taking to ward off a possible case of bronchitis when the two positive drug tests were administered. The throat lozenges, which were of Peruvian origin, were shown to contain trace amounts of cocaine that were determined to be the source of the positive test results. A second, independent test of the lozenges returned identical findings.

With the satisfactory resolution to this matter, and with the full support of the Italian Cycling Federation, it is with great happiness that we welcome Gilberto Simoni back to the Saeco/Longoni Sport team and turn our attention once again to racing.

We would like to thank the many, many fans who stood by us during this difficult time, and who passionately urged us not to abandon our support of bike racing. We share your passion for our sport, we support the efforts to maintain its integrity, and we look forward to a continued presence at the highest levels of racing.

Sincerely,

Joseph S. Montgomery
Founder and President,
Cannondale