Riccardo Riccò receives a lifetime ban
Riccardo Riccò has been handed a lifetime doping ban by the Italian national anti-doping organization.
The ban is the latest in a series of penalties levied by anti-doping authorities over the years against the 37-year-old Italian, who has not raced professionally since 2011.
After turning heads with a promising start to his career that saw him take a total of three stage wins and second overall at the Giro d’Italia before he turned 25, Riccò tested positive for CERA at the 2008 Tour de France and received a two-year ban. He returned to racing following the ban but in 2011, he was hospitalized after allegedly undergoing a blood transfusion with infected blood. He was subsequently suspended for 12 years. In 2014, however, he was caught by police while trying to purchase EPO and testosterone in a parking lot.
On Monday, the Italian anti-doping organization announced a lifetime ban for Riccò, who it noted is “currently not registered” with a racing license. Riccò was also ordered to pay a fine of €4,000 and “costs of the proceedings” amounting to €378.
Riccò confessed to doping in an interview with the Corriere della Sera in August. He is no longer involved in the sport, and now runs an ice cream shop.
