Two-time UCI Gran Fondo World Champion Alfonso D’Errico has been banned for a second time by the Italian National Anti-Doping Organization (NADO) after he tested positive for Ephedrine and tampered with an anti-doping test.

This week NADO issued D’Errico a lengthy 9 year 4 month ban due to the fact that these are not D’Errico’s first anti-doping violations. The 49 year-old was banned six months for Methylhexanamine doping in 2018 after he won a UCI Gran Fondo World Championship title in Varese, Italy. He also won a UCI Gran Fondo World Championship title in Slovenia in 2014.

Ephedrine has long been used by endurance athletes to improve exercise tolerance and, in the case of long-lasting performances, to prevent fatigue.  Although it is commonly found in cold medications, the World Anti-Doping Agency lists it as a prohibited substance when its concentration in an athlete’s urine is greater than 10 micrograms per millilitre.

D’Erico is now banned from sport until 26 October 2032.

Photo Credit: UCI Gran Fondo World Series

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