Michele Scarponi (Lampre-ISD) has been given a three-month ban and a fine of 10,000 Euros after admitting consulting the doctor who worked with the disgraced US Postal Service cycling team led by Lance Armstrong.
Scarponi received the penalty from the Italian Olympic Committee, CONI, after admitting to consultations with Dr Michele Ferrari.
Ferrari was given a lifetime ban from competitive cycling by USADA in July as part of the investigation into organised doping on the American ProTour team of the late 1990s and early 2000s.
The Italian cycling federation announced in 2002 that any rider consulting Dr Ferrari would be subject to a ban of up to six months.
Scarponi was suspended by Lampre-ISD in November after confessing that he had attended two sessions with Dr Ferrari in September 2010.
Responding to the ban handed down by CONI, Scarponi said: “I honestly believe I’ve done nothing wrong. However I accept the three-month verdict. The judgement was fair but I was hoping it would be something less or even nothing,” he told La Gazzetta dello Sport.
The backdated ban, which expires on December 31 2012, will not affect Scarponi’s 2013 season.
Earlier this year, the Italian was promoted to winner of the 2011 Giro d’Italia after Alberto Contador was stripped of the title by the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
Scarponi becomes the second Italian rider this season to receive a ban as a result of their association with Dr Ferrari.
Filippo Pozzato was given a backdated three-month ban in September after admitting to consulting Dr Ferrari between 2004 and 2009.
