Alessandro Petacchi (Lampre-ISD) says he is thinking about racing for Kazakhstan at the world championships this year. The Italian cycling Federation recently introduced a rule that means riders who have been suspended for doping after 1 August 2008, will not race the Worlds.

And Alessandro Petacchi tested positive for Salbutamol, it seems he used a little too much of his asthma medicine. And therefore he is not allowed to race the national championships for Italy.

But as said, Petacchi has other plans for the Worlds.

“Race against Italy at the worlds? I’m thinking about it,” Petacchi told Gazzetta dello Sport.

“I’m sorry and disappointed. I don’t know if it’s legally possible to take a decision like that and make it retroactive. If they’ve done it, it perhaps means you can… And I get caught up in it all and thrown in the pot with all the other cases. There doesn’t seem to be anything I can do about it and I’ve just got to accept it.”

And for some reason he seems to be interested in riding for Kazakhstan. It will feel a bit weird if he does.