Luca Paolini

Luca Paolini (born 17 January 1977) is an Italian former road bicycle racer, who rode professionally between 2000 and 2015. He started his sports career in the early 2000s by joining (2000–2002), UCI ProTeam directed by Patrick Lefevere. Within Mapei-Quick Step and then its successor team (2003–2005), Luca Paolini achieved several victories. Among them were first places at Gran Premio di Lugano, Giro del Piemonte and Gran Premio Bruno Beghelli. He has also won stages at Tour of Britain and Tour de Wallonie.

Career
Paolini was born in Milan. Seasons 2006–2007 and 2008–2010 Luca Paolini spent in two Italian cycling team – and  respectively. As their member, he triumphed at certain stages of Vuelta a España and Three Days of De Panne, won one-day races Gran Premio Città di Camaiore, Trofeo Laigueglia, Coppa Placci as well as Coppa Bernocchi. Meanwhile, his bright victories attracted a particular attention from anti-doping bodies. As his name appeared in taped phone conversations together with Ivan Basso and his sister Elisa, he was suspected in illegal drugs usage. In September 2006 Paolini's home was searched in a doping investigation which was called Operazione Athena – however it appears that no evidence was found that led to any conviction of Paolini's fault, so Team Liquigas refused to suspend him.

In 2011, he was signed by Russian to be a domestique for Filippo Pozzato both at classics and Grand Tours. However, due to Pozzato's poor performance and traumas in season 2011, he switched to other co-riders and pursued his personal goals in the peloton. In autumn 2011 he finished third at Giro del Piemonte having taken his first podium for Team Katusha. In 2013, Paolini took the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad after breaking away from the leading group with 's Stijn Vandenbergh. The pair resisted and Paolini won the sprint after Vandenburgh took long pulls in the final kilometers. In Milan – San Remo, Paolini finished in the lead group in fifth position, as 's Gerald Ciolek won the race.

In 2015, Paolini won a very windy and difficult edition of Gent–Wevelgem, as only 39 riders out of 160 finished the race. Paolini attacked his breakaway companions with five kilometers to go and benefited from a disorganized chase to win solo. In May, it was announced that Paolini's contract with Katusha had been extended by a year, finishing at the end of 2016.

Doping case
In the 2015 Tour de France, Paolini tested positive for cocaine and was thrown out of the race after Stage 7. His contract with Katusha was nullified. He revealed that he had been suffering from an addiction to the sleeping drug benzodiazepine and claimed to have taken cocaine "at a low point in his life".

In April 2016, he was banned from competition for 18 months, with the UCI judging that he had not intended to breach the anti-doping rules, as they do not prohibit the use of cocaine outside competition. Katusha confirmed that he would not be able to return to the team.

Paolini's ban expired in January 2017, however in an interview that month he said that he had retired from racing after being unable to find a team, and had invested in a coffee bar in Como. He also stated that he had overcome his addiction to benzodiazepine.

Major results

 * 1999
 * 1st Trofeo Città di Brescia
 * 1st Gran Premio di Poggiana
 * 2nd Silver medal uci.svg Road race, UCI Under-23 Road World Championships
 * 2nd Giro del Mendrisiotto


 * 2000
 * Tour de l'Avenir
 * 1st Jersey green.svg Points classification
 * 1st Stage 1
 * 1st Stage 3 Tour de Normandie
 * 1st Jersey polkadot.svg Mountains classification, Danmark Rundt
 * 5th Gran Premio della Costa Etruschi


 * 2001
 * 1st Gran Premio di Lugano
 * 4th Giro del Piemonte
 * 5th Coppa Bernocchi


 * 2002
 * 1st Giro del Piemonte
 * 2nd Overall Tour de la Région Wallonne
 * 4th Japan Cup
 * 8th Coppa Bernocchi
 * 8th Coppa Placci
 * 9th Criterium d'Abruzzo
 * 9th Tre Valli Varesine
 * 10th Gran Premio di Chiasso
 * 10th Gran Premio Bruno Beghelli


 * 2003
 * 1st Gran Premio Bruno Beghelli
 * 2nd Coppa Sabatini
 * 3rd Milan–San Remo
 * 3rd Brabantse Pijl
 * 6th Overall Vuelta a Andalucía
 * 7th Paris–Brussels
 * 8th Road race, UCI Road World Championships
 * 8th Paris–Tours
 * 9th Overall Tirreno–Adriatico


 * 2004
 * 1st Brabantse Pijl
 * 3rd Bronze medal uci.svg Road race, UCI Road World Championships
 * 3rd Gran Premio Città di Camaiore
 * 5th Trofeo Laigueglia


 * 2005
 * Tour of Britain
 * 1st Jersey green.svg Points classification
 * 1st Stages 3 & 6
 * 1st Stage 3 Tour de la Région Wallonne
 * 2nd HEW Cyclassics
 * 8th GP Ouest–France


 * 2006
 * 1st Gran Premio Città di Camaiore
 * 1st Stage 12 Vuelta a España
 * 3rd Coppa Bernocchi
 * 3rd Milan–San Remo
 * 4th Trofeo Matteotti
 * Vuelta a Mallorca
 * 6th Trofeo Cala Millor
 * 10th Trofeo Mallorca
 * 7th E3 Prijs Vlaanderen


 * 2007
 * 3rd Giro della Romagna
 * 3rd Tour of Flanders
 * 4th Coppa Bernocchi
 * 10th Overall Three Days of De Panne
 * 1st Stage 1


 * 2008
 * 1st Trofeo Laigueglia
 * 1st Coppa Placci
 * 2nd Giro del Piemonte
 * 3rd Paris–Brussels
 * 4th Giro della Romagna
 * 5th Gran Premio Industria e Commercio Artigianato Carnaghese
 * 6th Gent–Wevelgem
 * 7th Overall Giro della Provincia di Grosseto
 * 7th GP Industria & Artigianato di Larciano
 * 10th Overall Three Days of De Panne


 * 2009
 * 1st Coppa Bernocchi
 * 1st Stage 6 Settimana Ciclistica Lombarda
 * 2nd Memorial Cimurri
 * 3rd Road race, National Road Championships
 * 3rd Gran Premio Industria e Commercio di Prato
 * 3rd Giro del Veneto
 * 4th Gran Premio Bruno Beghelli
 * 4th Giro del Piemonte
 * 4th Giro di Lombardia
 * 6th Gran Premio della Costa Etruschi
 * 9th Milan–San Remo


 * 2010
 * 3rd Overall Three Days of De Panne
 * 1st Jersey green.svg Points classification
 * 3rd Coppa Ugo Agostoni
 * 4th Omloop Het Nieuwsblad
 * 4th Giro del Veneto
 * 6th Trofeo Laigueglia
 * 6th Giro del Friuli
 * 6th Dwars door Vlaanderen
 * 6th Gran Premio Industria e Commercio di Prato
 * 10th Milan–San Remo
 * 10th Gent–Wevelgem
 * 10th Grand Prix de Wallonie


 * 2011
 * 2nd Gran Premio Industria e Commercio di Prato
 * 3rd Giro del Piemonte
 * 4th Coppa Ugo Agostoni
 * 5th Omloop Het Nieuwsblad
 * 10th Gran Premio Bruno Beghelli


 * 2012
 * 2nd Gran Premio Industria e Commercio di Prato
 * 2nd Gran Piemonte
 * 4th Grand Prix Cycliste de Québec
 * 4th Grand Prix de Wallonie
 * 7th Tour of Flanders
 * 9th Road race, Olympic Games
 * 9th Grand Prix Cycliste de Montréal
 * 10th GP Ouest–France


 * 2013
 * 1st Omloop Het Nieuwsblad
 * Giro d'Italia
 * 1st Stage 3
 * Held Jersey pink.svg after Stage 3–6
 * 5th Milan–San Remo
 * 8th E3 Harelbeke


 * 2015
 * 1st Gent–Wevelgem