Motor doping at the Maratona dles Dolomites?

After record times on the climbs, Stefano Stagni's suspicion of engine doping on social media continues. However, motor doping could not be proven. Now the winner of the Maratona defended himself: “I’m not stupid enough to cheat during a live broadcast on TV!”

After Italian successes in professional cycling were rare in 2022, one amateur received a lot of attention in Italy: namely the 27-year-old electronics engineer Stefano Stagni from Ferrara. In addition to his work, the passionate amateur rider cycles around 20.000 kilometers a year and was relatively unknown in the scene until now. This changed suddenly at the beginning of July, with his triumph at the Maratona dles Dolomites in Val Badia, the most prestigious amateur race in Italy, and he shot himself into the spotlight. Success at any price? “I was in tears at the finish, it was unbelievable. Afterwards I was completely exhausted, all I did was eat, party and sleep for ten hours,” said Stagni happily after his greatest success. Not everyone involved was in the same mood as Stagni - some insiders expressed a suspicion that everything might not have been done cleanly. “After the victory I also received some hate messages,” said Stagni, dismayed. Over 600 people have marked a trip online as irregular – the Italian considers it a hate attack.

Celebration after success in one of the most important cycling races in the world.

Even the algorithm of the world's leading training app Strava rated his performance as “impossible” and refused to certify his activity. The climbing times of the famous Dolomite passes Giau and Falzarego could not be achieved by Stagni using normal means; they were the values of a Tour de France professional, was the reasoning. Investigators are particularly concerned about a short section in the second half of the race, where Stagni quickly caught up with the previously leading duo. After a video appeared on the Internet of Stagni operating a lever on the handlebars that was neither used for shifting nor braking during the steep final ramp, 3 kilometers from the finish, the suspicion of a hidden motor in the hub of his bike was confirmed rear wheel. Suspicious video footage is making the rounds “It might look like it on the video, but it wasn’t like that,” Stagni protested his innocence. “I contacted Strava, explained my position and disclosed all my data.” During his winning interview with RAI 2 , his bike was quickly removed from the site. “Because I didn’t want to leave my expensive bike out of sight, I had it brought to safety. If someone had insisted on a material inspection, I wouldn’t have objected,” assured Stagni.

6 hours of live broadcast – Stagni in focus.

The organizers of the Maratona also responded to the accusation and announced a scan and an X-ray of the bikes for the upcoming events, as has been common practice in the professional peloton for several years. Stagni told Corriere: “Italy is a country where everyone distrusts everyone. The driver who finishes 200th believes that the 199 in front of him must be cheating. I can look myself in the eyes with a clear conscience and assure myself that I am clean. I pedal to have fun!”

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Motor doping at the Maratona dles Dolomites?

“What New York is for marathon runners, the Maratona dles Dolomites is for us cycling amateurs,” said this year’s winner Stefano Stagni – he is now suspected of having cheated due to a hidden motor in the bike.

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