Rome - The Italian Olympic Committee (CONI) on Thursday provisionally suspended cyclist Riccardo Ricco following his failed dope test during this year's Tour the France. Ricco, who won two stages of this year's Tour and was considered one of the top young riders before testing positive for the blood- booster EPO, admitted at a CONI hearing Wednesday to doping.
The 24-year-old decided against calling for his B-sample to be tested and now faces a two-year ban.
Following his positive doping result for CERA (Continuous Erythropietin Receptor Activator) after the fourth stage of the race, on July 8, Ricco was immediately sacked by his Saunier Duval team and the company subsequently ceased its involvement in cycling.
Ricco's teammate Leonardo Piepoli was also released by his team despite not failing a dope test and faces a CONI hearing.
