Riccardo Ricco Comes Out As Anti-Vax, Doesn’t Want to “Get Injected With Who Knows What Shit”

In our favorite cycling story of the young year so far, Riccardo Ricco–the man who so badly botched a self-administered blood transfusion the day his doping ban ended that he ended up in a coma–has come out against the Covid-19 vaccine.

In a now-hidden Facebook post, Ricco argued “I do what I want with my body. Nobody can make me do something that if it were to have a negative effect on my body, I would be the only one that would lose.” Which, you know, seems like a historic U-turn from the Ricco we all know and love (?).

The rider who, if not for Lance Armstrong, would’ve been the 2000s most notorious doper added, “You can get injected with who knows what shit too, but don’t fuck people like me that have been well informed (by doctor friends) and that are not going to take a damn vaccine.”

Ricco is still serving a doping ban until 2024. In the meantime, he’s running his own gelato stand for dogs. Yes, really.

You can read more about Riccardo Ricco in our article Four Dopers That Prove the 2000s Were a Hive of Villainy. A truly fascinating and hilarious person both on and off the bike.

Ricco came out against the vaccine on the same day that his former manager vaccinated his entire team. At least one of them still likes needles.