The rider Riccardo Ricco has been suspended on an indefinite basis by the Italian
Cycling Federation, after it was alleged that the 27-year-old performed a blood transfusion on himself. Ricco, below, who served a 20-month ban after testing positive for EPO during the 2008 Tour de France, was accused by doctors of carrying out the life-threatening procedure in February, shortly after he had to go to hospital with a serious illness. Ricco was sacked by his team, Vacansoleil-DCM, soon after but managed to get signed up by a second-tier Italian-based Croatian team, Meridiana-Kamen, in time for the start of tomorrow's Tour of Serbia. He will no longer be able to compete in the race. Criticising the decision of the FCI, Meridiana's team manager, Antonio Giallorenzo, said: "It's right that they do their job but you should look at the others, like [Alberto] Contador, for example. Besides, who hasn't made a mistake in his life? He [Ricco] made a mistake the first time [in 2008], the second time is in doubt." Ricco has always denied that he carried out the blood transfusion. "I was hospitalised for kidney failure," he said. "It is a problem that could happen to anyone, even to that individual who leads a perfect life."