# Luca Paolini

Luca Paolini (born 17 January 1977) is an Italian former road bicycle racer, who rode professionally between 2000 and 2015. He started his sports career in the early 2000s by joining Mapei–Quick-Step (2000–2002), UCI ProTeam directed by Patrick Lefevere. Within Mapei-Quick Step and then its successor team Quick-Step–Innergetic (2003–2005), Luca Paolini achieved several victories. Among them were first places at Gran Premio di Lugano, Giro del Piemonte and Gran Premio Bruno Beghelli. He has also won stages at Tour of Britain and Tour de Wallonie.

## Career

Paolini was born in Milan. Seasons 2006–2007 and 2008–2010 Luca Paolini spent in two Italian cycling team – Liquigas and Acqua & Sapone respectively. As their member, he triumphed at certain stages of Vuelta a España and Three Days of De Panne, won one-day races Gran Premio Città di Camaiore, Trofeo Laigueglia, Coppa Placci as well as Coppa Bernocchi. Meanwhile, his bright victories attracted a particular attention from anti-doping bodies. As his name appeared in taped phone conversations together with Ivan Basso and his sister Elisa, he was suspected in illegal drugs usage. In September 2006 Paolini's home was searched in a doping investigation which was called Operazione Athena – however it appears that no evidence was found that led to any conviction of Paolini's fault, so Team Liquigas refused to suspend him.
In 2011, he was signed by Russian Team Katusha to be a domestique for Filippo Pozzato both at classics and Grand Tours. However, due to Pozzato's poor performance and traumas in season 2011, he switched to other co-riders and pursued his personal goals in the peloton. In autumn 2011 he finished third at Giro del Piemonte having taken his first podium for Team Katusha. In 2013, Paolini took the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad after breaking away from the leading group with Omega Pharma–Quick-Step's Stijn Vandenbergh. The pair resisted and Paolini won the sprint after Vandenburgh took long pulls in the final kilometers. In Milan – San Remo, Paolini finished in the lead group in fifth position, as MTN–Qhubeka's Gerald Ciolek won the race.
In 2015, Paolini won a very windy and difficult edition of Gent–Wevelgem, as only 39 riders out of 160 finished the race. Paolini attacked his breakaway companions with five kilometers to go and benefited from a disorganized chase to win solo. In May, it was announced that Paolini's contract with Katusha had been extended by a year, finishing at the end of 2016.

### Doping case

In the 2015 Tour de France, Paolini tested positive for cocaine and was thrown out of the race after Stage 7. His contract with Katusha was nullified. He revealed that he had been suffering from an addiction to the sleeping drug benzodiazepine and claimed to have taken cocaine "at a low point in his life".
In April 2016, he was banned from competition for 18 months, with the UCI judging that he had not intended to breach the anti-doping rules, as they do not prohibit the use of cocaine outside competition. Katusha confirmed that he would not be able to return to the team.
Paolini's ban expired in January 2017, however in an interview that month he said that he had retired from racing after being unable to find a team, and had invested in a coffee bar in Como. He also stated that he had overcome his addiction to benzodiazepine.

## Major results
### 1999

    1st Trofeo Città di Brescia
    1st Gran Premio di Poggiana
    2nd Road race, UCI Under-23 Road World Championships
    2nd Giro del Mendrisiotto

### 2000

    Tour de l'Avenir
       1st Points classification
       1st Stage 1
    1st Stage 3 Tour de Normandie
    1st Mountains classification, Danmark Rundt
    5th Gran Premio della Costa Etruschi

### 2001

    1st Gran Premio di Lugano
    4th Giro del Piemonte
    5th Coppa Bernocchi

### 2002

    1st Giro del Piemonte
    2nd Overall Tour de la Région Wallonne
    4th Japan Cup
    8th Coppa Bernocchi
    8th Coppa Placci
    9th Criterium d'Abruzzo
    9th Tre Valli Varesine
    10th Gran Premio di Chiasso
    10th Gran Premio Bruno Beghelli

### 2003

    1st Gran Premio Bruno Beghelli
    2nd Coppa Sabatini
    3rd Milan–San Remo
    3rd Brabantse Pijl
    6th Overall Vuelta a Andalucía
    7th Paris–Brussels
    8th Road race, UCI Road World Championships
    8th Paris–Tours
    9th Overall Tirreno–Adriatico

### 2004

    1st Brabantse Pijl
    3rd Road race, UCI Road World Championships
    3rd Gran Premio Città di Camaiore
    5th Trofeo Laigueglia

### 2005

    Tour of Britain
       1st Points classification
       1st Stages 3 & 6
    1st Stage 3 Tour de la Région Wallonne
    2nd HEW Cyclassics
    8th GP Ouest–France

### 2006

    1st Gran Premio Città di Camaiore
    1st Stage 12 Vuelta a España
    3rd Coppa Bernocchi
    3rd Milan–San Remo
    4th Trofeo Matteotti
    Vuelta a Mallorca
       6th Trofeo Cala Millor
       10th Trofeo Mallorca
    7th E3 Prijs Vlaanderen

### 2007

    3rd Giro della Romagna
    3rd Tour of Flanders
    4th Coppa Bernocchi
    10th Overall Three Days of De Panne
       1st Stage 1

### 2008

    1st Trofeo Laigueglia
    1st Coppa Placci
    2nd Giro del Piemonte
    3rd Paris–Brussels
    4th Giro della Romagna
    5th Gran Premio Industria e Commercio Artigianato Carnaghese
    6th Gent–Wevelgem
    7th Overall Giro della Provincia di Grosseto
    7th GP Industria & Artigianato di Larciano
    10th Overall Three Days of De Panne

### 2009

    1st Coppa Bernocchi
    1st Stage 6 Settimana Ciclistica Lombarda
    2nd Memorial Cimurri
    3rd Road race, National Road Championships
    3rd Gran Premio Industria e Commercio di Prato
    3rd Giro del Veneto
    4th Gran Premio Bruno Beghelli
    4th Giro del Piemonte
    4th Giro di Lombardia
    6th Gran Premio della Costa Etruschi
    9th Milan–San Remo

### 2010

    3rd Overall Three Days of De Panne
       1st Points classification
    3rd Coppa Ugo Agostoni
    4th Omloop Het Nieuwsblad
    4th Giro del Veneto
    6th Trofeo Laigueglia
    6th Giro del Friuli
    6th Dwars door Vlaanderen
    6th Gran Premio Industria e Commercio di Prato
    10th Milan–San Remo
    10th Gent–Wevelgem
    10th Grand Prix de Wallonie

### 2011

    2nd Gran Premio Industria e Commercio di Prato
    3rd Giro del Piemonte
    4th Coppa Ugo Agostoni
    5th Omloop Het Nieuwsblad
    10th Gran Premio Bruno Beghelli

### 2012

    2nd Gran Premio Industria e Commercio di Prato
    2nd Gran Piemonte
    4th Grand Prix Cycliste de Québec
    4th Grand Prix de Wallonie
    7th Tour of Flanders
    9th Road race, Olympic Games
    9th Grand Prix Cycliste de Montréal
    10th GP Ouest–France

### 2013

    1st Omloop Het Nieuwsblad
    Giro d'Italia
       1st Stage 3
       Held after Stage 3–6
    5th Milan–San Remo
    8th E3 Harelbeke

### 2015

    1st Gent–Wevelgem

### Grand Tour general classification results timeline

| Grand Tour | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 |
| Giro d'Italia | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 59 | 111 | 111 |
| Tour de France | — | — | 69 | — | — | 101 | — | — | — | — | — | 108 | — | 136 | DNF |
| Vuelta a España | 106 | — | — | DNF | — | DNF | — | — | — | — | 135 | — | 107 | — | — |

### Classics results timeline

| Monument | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 |
| Milan–San Remo | — | — | 64 | 3 | 83 | — | 3 | 12 | — | 9 | 10 | 122 | 12 | 5 | 33 | 30 |
| Tour of Flanders | — | — | — | 39 | 26 | — | 32 | 3 | — | — | — | 57 | 7 | 23 | 36 | 52 |
| Paris–Roubaix | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | DNF | DNF | 11 | 21 | 74 | 44 |
| Liège–Bastogne–Liège | — | DNF | 68 | DNF | 69 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Giro di Lombardia | — | DNF | DNF | DNF | — | 44 | — | — | DNF | 4 | DNF | 11 | DNF | — | — |
| Classic | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 |
| Omloop Het Nieuwsblad | — | — | — | — | — | — | DNF | — | — | — | 4 | 5 | 12 | 1 | DNF | — |
| Kuurne–Brussels–Kuurne | — | — | — | 12 | 113 | — | DNF | — | — | — | DNF | 24 | 19 | NH | 46 | — |
| Dwars door Vlaanderen | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 6 | — | — | — | — | — |
| E3 Harelbeke | — | — | — | — | — | — | 7 | DNF | — | — | DNF | — | 28 | 8 | 13 | 33 |
| Gent–Wevelgem | — | 39 | — | — | — | — | DNF | 19 | 6 | — | 10 | 116 | 24 | 54 | DNF | 1 |
| Brabantse Pijl | — | — | — | 3 | 1 | — | DNF | 42 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Hamburg Cyclassics | — | 33 | 135 | 13 | 31 | 2 | 14 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| GP Ouest–France | — | — | 12 | — | — | 8 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 10 | — | 126 | — |
| Grand Prix Cycliste de Québec | Race did not exist | Race did not exist | Race did not exist | Race did not exist | Race did not exist | Race did not exist | Race did not exist | Race did not exist | Race did not exist | Race did not exist | — | — | 4 | — | — | — |
| Grand Prix Cycliste de Montréal | Race did not exist | Race did not exist | Race did not exist | Race did not exist | Race did not exist | Race did not exist | Race did not exist | Race did not exist | Race did not exist | Race did not exist | — | — | 9 | — | — | — |
| Paris–Tours | 43 | 11 | 120 | 8 | 152 | DNF | 30 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |

### Major championships results timeline

| | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 |
| Olympic Games | — | Not held | Not held | Not held | 39 | Not held | Not held | Not held | — | Not held | Not held | Not held | 9 | Not held | Not held | Not held |
| World Championships | — | — | — | 8 | 3 | 72 | 38 | — | DNF | 65 | 38 | 106 | 75 | DNF | — | — |
| National Championships | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 5 | 3 | — | 10 | — | — | DNF | — |
Legend :
| — | Did not compete |
| DNF | Did not finish |
| NH | Not held |
| DNS | Did not start |