Riccardo Ricco handed lifetime ban for doping
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Updated 15/12/2020 at 13:44 GMT
Riccardo Ricco, who finished in second place in the general classification in the 2008 Giro d'Italia has been handed a lifetime ban for doping. The Italian tested positive for using a banned substance in 2008, suffered an accident during a self-administered blood transfusion in 2011 and was caught trying to buy EPO and testosterone in a cark park in 2015.
Coppa Sabatini 2010 Arrival / Riccardo RICCO (Ita) Celebration Joie Vreugde / Peccioli - Peccioli (199 Km)/ /(c) Tim De Waele | Location: Peccioli, Italy
Image credit: Getty Images
Italian cyclist Riccardo Ricco has been given a lifetime ban for doping, following on from his 12-year suspension handed to him back in 2012.
The 37-year-old has a long history of using banned substances, having tested positive for a blood booster similar to Erythropoietin during the 2008 Tour de France, which gave earned him a two-year ban.
In 2011, he was admitted to hospital in a critical condition, having self-administered a blood transfusion that went wrong in the presence of his girlfriend.
A year later, Italy's national anti-doping authorities handed him a 12-year ban from professional cycling activity, which was later upheld by the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
In 2015, he was accused of trying to buy EPO and testosterone after being caught with two dealers in a car park in Livorno.
The police investigation has come to an end and his ban has now become a lifetime one.
Ricco won two stages in the 2008 Giro d'Italia, finishing second in the GC. He also won two Tour de France stages that year but they were later stripped from him following his positive drug test.
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