Pellizotti fails UCI’s biological passport program
Published:Monday | May 3, 2010 | 5:34 PM
Italian cyclist Franco Pellizotti was banned from the Giro d\'Italia today because his irregular blood levels suggested he resorted to doping.
Italian cycling federation president Renato Di Rocco says Pellizotti, a climbing specialist who won the King of the Mountains\' polka dot jersey at last year\'s Tour de France, failed the International Cycling Union\'s, UCI, biological passport program.
Di Rocco said Franco will have to justify those irregularities in his passport and he won\'t be able to participate in the Giro without providing more details.
Pellizotti was one of three riders named by the UCI today as having suspicious blood profiles in the pioneering program to catch drug cheats.
The others are Tadej Valjavec from Slovenia and Spain\'s Jesus Rosendo.
Each rider\'s national federation will now investigate to decide if they used performance-enhancing drugs.