ROME -- Italy's national Olympic Committee says it has banned cyclist Pasquale Muto for 2½ years after he tested positive for the endurance-boosting hormone EPO.
CONI said on its website that the test was carried out April 10 in Genoa after the Giro dell'Appennino race.
Details of the ban, which runs until Nov. 11, 2013, will be passed to the International Cycling Union and the World Anti-Doping Agency, CONI said.