Italian cycling team Vini Zabu banned from racing for one month after two doping cases emerge

Paris: Following two separate doping positives in their ranks, Italian cycling team Vini Zabu have been suspended from all racing for a month, the International Cycling Union announced on Monday. Matteo De Bonis tested positive for EPO in an out-of-competition control in March while teammate Matteo Spreafico fell foul of doping regulations twice on the Giro last October. The ban on the entire team runs from 7 April to 6 May, 2021. “The UCI Anti-Doping Rules provide for the suspension of a team when two of its riders receive notice of an Adverse Analytical Finding for a non-specified substance in samples collected during the same 12-month period,” the UCI said on Monday. Vini Zabu announced last Thursday that it would not compete in the Giro d’Italia starting in Turin on May 8 following the two doping cases. Vini Zabu was one of three teams to receive an invitation to compete in the three-week Giro d’Italia from organisers RCS. The selection of the second-tier Italian outfit had caused surprise, with the Movement for a Credible Cycling saying it had failed nine doping tests in the last 12 years.