The cyclist Antonio Tiberi, one of the young pearls of Italian cycling, has gotten into a good extra-sports mess. The Corriere della Sera reports this Tuesday that Tiberi, 21, killed a cat in San Marino while testing a shotgun of compressed air.
The Italian newspaper compiles the succession of events that occurred during this incident, which took place on June 21, noting that Tiberi pointed from the window of his house at the cat, which he shot in the head, killing it on the spot.
The situation becomes more serious if possible since the cat had been adopted by the San Marino Minister of Tourism and Posts, Pedini Amati, who did not hesitate to denounce the case. A complaint that resulted in a fine for Tiberi of 4,000 euros and the confiscation of Tiberi’s weapon.
The newspaper also includes Tiberi’s statement before the judge to regret what happened. “I just wanted to measure the firing capacity of the weapon. I also aimed at a traffic sign and I admit that I also tried to hit a cat and, to my surprise, I hit it. I had no intention of killing himI was convinced that the weapon was not lethal”.
The revelation of the Tiberi incident has sparked outrage among cycling fans, who are calling for a larger fine for the cyclist or even his dismissal from Trek-Segafredo. It should be noted that Tiberi, junior world time trial champion in 2019, has had a great start to the 2023 season with two Top-10 overall from two UCI World Tour races such as the Tour Down Under and the UAE Tour after having achieved his first victory as a professional last year in the last stage of the Tour of Hungary.
