Italian rider given suspended sentence, fined €3,000
Riccardo Riccò (Image credit: Bettini Photo)
Riccardo Riccò was handed a two month suspended sentence by a French court for the use of harmful substances today. The charges relate to Riccò’s doping positive from the 2008 Tour de France, where he became the first athlete to be found using a third-generation form of EPO known as CERA.
L'Equipe reports that the Italian rider was also fined €3,000 and ordered to pay a similar sum in damages and interest to the French Cycling Federation (FFC).
Riccò did not attend Tuesday’s hearing in Foix and has yet to react to the sentence. He was already fined €5,710 by an Italian court in February of this year in addition to his 20-month sporting sanction, which he completed in March of this year.
Riccò has re-entered the professional peloton under the Ceramica Flaminia colours, but his team has been not been invited to either the Giro d'Italia or Tour de France.
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Barry Ryan is Head of Features at Cyclingnews. He has covered professional cycling since 2010, reporting from the Tour de France, Giro d’Italia and events from Argentina to Japan. His writing has appeared in The Independent, Procycling and Cycling Plus. He is the author of The Ascent: Sean Kelly, Stephen Roche and the Rise of Irish Cycling’s Golden Generation, published by Gill Books.
