The alleged perpetrator of the incident which occurred last Saturday in Peri (Verona) has been identified by the Carabinieri of the Caprino Veronese Company, when a group of cyclists from the SC Padovani team were shot at on the street while they were training.
along State Road 12.
According to the reconstruction by the military, the man is a 25-year-old local man who, while driving his car and overtaking on the SS12 dell'Abetone e del Brennero, pulled out a pistol and fired two shots at them.
The gesture was apparently attributable to trivial reasons related to disagreements over the maneuvers.
The story
The incident dates back to last Saturday, when the cyclists were engaged in pre-Christmas training along State Road 12 in Dolcè (Verona), where they were closely followed by the team's three flagship cars. A dark-colored car apparently approached the group and then took aim at them with a pistol, likely firing blanks.
According to the club itself, in a statement, the athletes, staff, and managers were shocked by what happened. Once they returned to their headquarters, recently established at the Veronello Resort, they immediately gathered all testimonies and images, with a view to filing a complaint.
The company
"We are relieved that all the kids are safe and sound after what happened yesterday," commented President Galdino Peruzzo. "This is a terrible incident that we hope will never happen again: the road is our kids' training ground, and as a club, we have taken all necessary measures to ensure they ride safely. Unfortunately, faced with the folly of certain individuals, there's really nothing we can do."
What happened in Val d'Adige, the club states, "is not the only incident of aggression by motorists against Padovani athletes," as last September, Vicenza cyclist Marco Palomba was hit by a hit-and-run driver.
Raising awareness
"It's necessary to raise awareness among all those who get behind the wheel," Peruzzo concluded, "of a culture of greater respect." As sports director Dimitri Konychev pointed out, the athletes "wear visible clothing and have lights on their bikes to be noticed by motorists. We followed the riders from the first to the last kilometer," he said. "Every now and then, with the team car, we give drivers the opportunity to overtake, but more respect is needed." The Italian Cycling Federation also commented on the incident, announcing that it will join the civil action in the event of a trial and will provide its lawyers. "A serious gesture," the federation emphasized, "which, at this stage, appears aimed at harming the entire cycling movement."
(Unioneonline)
