AIGLE, Switzerland — Italian team Vini Zabù faces a suspension from racing after a second rider tested positive for doping, the International Cycling Union said Tuesday.
Teams with two doping cases in a 12-month period can be banned from racing for 15 to 45 days, possibly ruling the team out of the Giro d’Italia. The three-week Italian race starts May 8.
The UCI said Matteo De Bonis has been provisionally suspended pending a disciplinary case after testing positive for the blood-boosting hormone EPO in a sample taken Feb. 16.
De Bonis was targeted for testing during training by the Lausanne-based International Testing Agency, the UCI said.
Vini Zabù also had rider Matteo Spreafico test positive twice for the trial drug ostarine at last year’s Giro d’Italia in October.
The UCI said it will “shortly refer the matter to the disciplinary commission which will render a decision in due course.”