Danilo Di Luca reflects on cycling’s dark era - 'Without doping, I would have won much more'

Now living in Pescara, the 50-year-old Italian remains one of the most controversial figures of his generation, banned for life after multiple doping offences. Looking back, he does not shy away from the subject. “Without doping, I would have won much more,” he told AS.

Di Luca points to a system that, in his view, reduced differences between riders. “Without doping, the champion stands out even more. With it, everything becomes more level. The gap between a top rider and an average one is smaller.”

Despite the controversy surrounding his career, his memories of his biggest victories remain vivid. His win at Liège in 2007, ahead of Alejandro Valverde and Fränk Schleck, still stands out. “It was the most beautiful race I won as a professional. I had been chasing it for years,” he said. “It was like the final stone I needed to complete the house.”

Interestingly, he ranks that victory above his Giro triumph in the same season. “For an Italian, the Giro is everything. But Liège is different. It’s one day, everything happens at once. The emotions are stronger.”

Ultimately, Danilo Di Luca recorded 42 victories between 1998 and 2014, including six stage wins at the Giro d’Italia and two at the Vuelta a España.

On the current peloton, Di Luca sees clear differences compared to his own era. “Today’s riders are more like robots,” he said. “Everything is controlled: watts, kilometres, nutrition. We were more instinctive. We looked at our rivals, not just at the numbers.”

That shift, he believes, has also changed the way races unfold. “Now it’s easier to predict who will win. Before, there was more spontaneity. More attacks from far out, more uncertainty.”

Beyond the sport itself, Di Luca also expressed concern about cycling’s declining base in countries like Italy and Spain. “There is less competitiveness, fewer young riders coming through. Everything starts with the grassroots,” he said. “Today, if a child tells his father he wants to start cycling, the answer is often no.”

Despite his lifetime ban, Di Luca remains active in the sport through his own bike brand, producing high end racing bikes. He insists he has moved on, even if his past continues to define him in the public eye.

“In life, everyone makes mistakes,” he said. “But at some point, it should be enough. I didn’t kill anyone. I work, I have a family. I consider myself a good person.”