Italian rider Pierpaolo De Negri fails test for anabolic steroids

Italian rider Pierpaolo De Negri has returned an adverse analytical finding for anabolic androgenic steroids from a sample collected on December 21 2017.

The 31-year-old rode for the Nippo-Vini Fantini team between 2014 and 2017. He signed for the MsTina-Focus team for 2018.

Subsequent to the test result, De Negri has been suspended from competition and appears on the Union Cycliste Internationale's list of provisionally suspended riders. The UCI has provided no further statement on the test result.

However, the MsTina-Focus issued a brief statement via Twitter on Thursday evening, which confirmed De Negri had been notified of the test result and that the sample was collected out-of-competition.

"The team is confident that the athlete will be able to clarify the story," read the statement, which went on to stress that the positive test arose prior to De Negri joining the team in 2018.

De Negri's suspension means that he will not be lining up for the team at the Trofeo Laigueglia in Italy on Sunday, February 11.

There have been a number of adverse analytical findings announced by the UCI in the past few months, including the names of 12 riders who tested positive from samples taken on a single day during the Vuelta Ciclista Internacional a Costa Rica in December.