ITALIAN cyclist Leonardo Piepoli has been handed an immediate ban after testing positive for a banned substance at last year’s Tour de France.
The Italian Olympic Committee's anti-doping tribunal said the two-year ban will end on January 25, 2011.
Piepoli, who won the 10th stage of the Tour de France, tested positive on July 4 and July 15 for CERA, an advanced version of the endurance-enhancing hormone EPO, according to the Associated Press.
The rider said earlier this month that he had engaged in doping in a "moment of weakness." He called his behavior "unjustifiable" and urged other cyclists not to cheat.
Meanwhile in Spain, some of the world’s top cyclists could face further court appearances in connection with the freshly reopened Operation Puerto doping probe.
Spanish sport minister Jaime Lissavetzky said this week the third review of the case would include “oral testimony,” also according to the Associated Press.
A Spanish court recently decided to reopen the investigation which has rocked the cycling world since the blood doping ring was discovered in May 2006.
More than 50 cyclists were originally implicated and earlier this month, a Madrid provincial court revoked the decision to shelve the case because “evidence exists that a crime was committed against public health.”
I cling on to the notions drivers/ people verbalise like "wasn't Center Parcs lovely" and "I've got no choice" in the hope that they may one day...
Ah, but the terrorists build their invisible bases under those hospitals and refugee camps, and some of those children are just really short adult...
Friday's effort
Am I right in thinking that this has been the case in NL for over half a century (or 30 years nationally)? With a brief interruption from 2003 -...
100% agree on all points! ...
I think this mostly....
A good point - cyclists are somewhere between pedestrians and motorcyclists (a few - electric motorcycles mainly, which are not legal) in terms of...
Welcome - probably didn't show as they tagged it "not near miss of the day"?
Cambridgeshire boy, 13, crashes Audi into garden wall after taking it from home...
Used car salesman is a complete attention-seeking plank....