Although the cycling world breathed a sigh of relief earlier this morning when the 17 samples from the 2008 Tour de France all came back negative, this afternoon was marked by a positive test for the third generation EPO, known as CERA, by Italian Francesco De Bonis (Diquigiovanni).
It is the second doping related news after his countryman Gabriele Bosisio (LPR Brakes) tested positive for the same drug. De Bonis' positive test came after the first stage of the Giro d’Italia on May 7th.
Both Italians were caught thanks to the UCI’s biological passport which detects the blood levels of tested riders since its inception on January 1 2008. De Bonis was suspended by his team after the UCI published his name and four others including, Ricardo Serrano, Igor Astarloa, Rubén Lobato and Pietro Caucchioli on June 18th citing abnormal blood values.
De Bonis turned professional with Gerolsteiner, the home of several dopers including Bernard Kohl, Davide Rebellin and Stefan Schumacher.