Oct 1, 2004 – According to an Agence France Presse (AFP) report Italian sports doctor Michele Ferrari, famous for working with several of the world’s best professional cyclists, including six-time Tour winner, American Lance Armstrong, has been given a 12-month suspended jail sentence for malpractice by a court in Italy.

Pro cyclist, Filippo Simeoni, one of Ferrari’s biggest accusers, is currently in Verona, Italy at the Road Worlds and was quoted as saying: “From a human point of view, I regret Ferrari’s sentence but it shows my statements were justified and that there is justice in this world. You just have to be patient.”

Italian prosecutor Lorenzo Gestri had recommended a 14-month prison sentence for Ferrari for administering performance-enhancing substances to cyclists. The release goes on to say that Ferrari’s lawyer said they will appeal, emphasising his client had been acquitted of the most serious charge of distributing doping products. Armstrong told Le Figaro newspaper in an interview in January last year he worked daily with his full-time coach, American Chris Carmichael, but also periodically worked with Ferrari.