Piepoli banned for two years

Veteran Italian cyclist Leonardo Piepoli was banned for two years Monday after using the latest version of EPO at last year's Tour de France, the national antidoping tribunal said.
Piepoli's use of Mircera, the new generation of the banned blood booster, was established by a series of tests on samples taken on July 4 and 15, they said.
The 37-year-old was sacked by his team, Saunier Duval, on July 18.
On October 2 Piepoli's former team leader Riccardo Ricco', 25, was banned for two years after being ejected from the Tour for Mircera use on July 17.
Ricco' still faces possible criminal prosecution in France.
Ricco' won two stages and Piepoli one at the Tour, where Ricco's ejection was the latest in a string of high-profile doping cases.