Mauro Gianetti, 1997 (after his hospitalisation, linked to PFC use): “I was very ill with an infection, but I didn’t inject myself with anything. I thought somebody had given me something that was bad for my health. The investigation is not against me. It is against somebody who could have given me something.”

Mauro Gianetti, Saunier Duval DS, 2008: “I can’t help but feel let down by someone to whom I gave my utter confidence. […] I was totally unaware of any doping practices going on in the team.”

David Millar, 2008 ( a Saunier Duval rider the previous year): “I think that Mauro Gianetti has been taken advantage of and he is someone I have a lot of respect for. He does not deserve this and he has a good heart. He has perhaps put a lot of trust in people that he shouldn’t have and he will learn from this. I guarantee – you watch Mauro – he will have an independent anti-doping programme within the team by the end of the year. He was close to doing it last year, and now he is going to have to extend his budget and get that programme in place. It is by doing that the sport will change.”