There is a chance that Luca Paolini could ride once again for Katusha next season, should he be cleared of any wrongdoing by B-sample analysis of his positive test for cocaine.
Paolini was informed of an adverse analytical finding for the substance, which is banned in competition, at this year’s Tour de France and was later evicted from the race before seeing his contract with Katusha – which was due to run until the end of 2016 – terminated with immediate effect.
Almost five months on, his case is still pending with the UCI. Katusha general manager Viatcheslav Ekimov believes there could be an outcome very soon and is weighing up his next course of action, which will obviously depend on whether the rider is cleared or served a suspension. Although he feels Paolini has already inflicted damage upon the reputation of his team, Ekimov told Cyclingnews that he is open to talking with the Italian about a possible return to the Russian team.
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“If there is the decision that Luca is able to ride, we will take a special meeting, we’ll sit down, talk to Luca, to his agent, and we’ll see how we can be there, either involved or not involved, together or completely apart," he said.
“Luca is Luca, he’s a great bike rider, a very experienced rider, but on the other hand his reputation has been damaged by himself. It’s not always easy to restore your reputation, especially when we’re talking about the whole team, the image of the team.
"First we will see what the result is, and second, what we can do about it. It’s difficult to say now; I’m not excluding anything. Luca is a very experienced rider – he could be a big part of the team, not necessarily Katusha, but any team."
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