The Italian National Anti-Doping Court has preliminarily suspended top amateur gran fondo rider Fabio Cini, 35, after he allegedly tested positive for the banned anabolic steroid Stanozolol on 17 February at the 19th edition of Ricordando Marco Pantani – which he won.

Cini (Team Promotech Mg Kvis) has been on NADO Italia’s radar for years. In 2022, he was required to be part of the NADO Italia Registered Testing Pool (RTP) program, with Gran Fondo Daily then uncovering a now deleted Facebook post where an account with his name blamed poor performance on random testing associated with the RTP biological passport.

In addition, most of his Promotech Mg Kvis team was tested in an unannounced raid conducted by the Italian NAS National Doping Police at Gran Fondo Laigueglia on 25 February.

Cini has notable victories in some of the most prominent events on the Italian gran fondo racing circuit, including Maratona dles Dolomites, Granfondo Ale La Merckx and Sportful Dolomiti. Last weekend Cini finished 20th at Gran Fondo Strade Bianche.

Team Promotech Mg Kvis, who recruited Cini as one of their star riders for 2024, issued a statement: “Our team unequivocally distances itself from this incident, but we are reserving further comment until the results of the counter-analysis are available. We’re shocked by these developments and are hoping that the additional tests will negate the initial findings for Cini’s sake.”

Photo Credit: quotidiano.net

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