Originally Posted by waltergodefroot
Asking Gilberto to wait for him on the final descent then riding away from him on the final climb was not a very stand up thing to do, especially if they were supposed to be friends. He embarassed Simoni, and Simoni is pi$$ed.
There is no proof Basso asked him to do this. Secondly, the accusation is that Basso offered to sell him the stage win for a bribe (yet...as we all know, he was carrying a picture of his child to dedicate the win). Thirdly, he then referred to his wins as suspicious and "extra-terrestrial", which is essentially a doping accusation.
According to RAI Sportivo, Basso is looking into suing Simoni for slander. Given that Simoni has a record of doing this, and he has no proof of his accusations, he will likely get sued. You cannot accuse a person of illegal acts unless it is true and can be backed up, that defines slander. Armstrong has made a small fortune from these lawsuits. Note that Saunier Duval is not making comments.
This does not taint the Giro in any way. The italian press, which is historically very pro-Simoni, has been very critical of his judgement and personal comments about Basso. I would not be surprised if the UCI does not step in and penalize Simoni.
Simoni is at the end of his career, which could have been a graceful exit with several strong Giro finishes and two wins, but now he just looks like an idiot and poor sportsman to the world. Pathetic.