ROME, July 30, 2008 (AFP) – World champion cyclist Marta Bastianelli is to face an Italian Olympic Committee (Coni) hearing on August 5 after failing a dope test this month.

The 21-year-old has been kicked off the Italian Olympic team but protested her innocence, claiming she had inadvertently consumed the banned stimulant flenfluramina.

Bastianelli blamed her chemist for preparing her a mix of herbs aimed at weight loss but containing the stimulant.