ROME, July 31, 2008 (AFP) – Disgraced Italian cyclist Ricardo Ricco was on
Thursday suspended by the Italian Olympic Committee (Coni) anti-doping
tribunal after admitting to using the banned blood-booster EPO.

Ricco has kicked off the Tour de France, and subsequently sacked by his
Saunier-Duval team, after testing positive following the fourth stage
time-trial.

He initialy protested his innocence but following a meeting with Coni
officials on Wednesday, he admitted to his offense, even criticizing testing
procedures because he had passed many tests despite being doped.

The duration of his ban is not yet known but it is likely to be two years -
the same amount of time Italy’s previous cycling hero Ivan Basso was banned
for his admission to having tried to use banned substances prior to the 2006
Tour de France.

His ban ends in October.

After his Coni interview, Ricco said: “In front of the anti-doping
prosecutor I took responsibility for my actions.

“Before the tour I made a mistake, I took the substance that you all know
about (EPO).”

Ricco’s former Saunier-Duval team-mate Leonardo Piepoli was also due to be
interviewed by Coni on Thursday.

He didn’t fail any doping tests at the Tour, where he won the 10th stage,
but was also fired by his team for breaking their code of ethics.

Photo by: CorVos Pro