A UCI ruling has suspended Bardiani CSF for 30 days after the governing body concluded its investigation into two riders from the team who tested positive for growth hormones earlier this year.
In accordance with rule 7.21.1, if two riders on a team are caught utilising banned substances the team will subsequently be banned for 15 to 45 days, meaning this isn’t the harshest sentence they could’ve received but nor is it a slap on the wrist.
Bardiani CSF will be banned from racing for the next 30 days forcing them to miss the Tour of Austria which they had hoped to have contended for next month (July 2-9). However, the ban is limited to international races meaning that Bardiani riders can take place in the Italian National Road Race Championships on 24th and 25th June.
The pair, Nicola Ruffoni and Stefano Pirazzi, had tested positive for GH-Releasing Peptides (GHRPs) on the eve of the 2017 Giro d’Italia but had relied on their B samples to prove their innocence. Their hope was soon vanquished when it was revealed their B samples tested positive too and they were to be sacked from their team.
The UCI ban starts tomorrow keeping the team out of international races until the 14th July before they take on the Tour of Utah at the end of the month.
